Are You On The Australian Blacklist?

[Ms Naughty]

Here's your chance, folks: The Australian blacklist has been leaked. Type "Wikileaks" into Google and you'll find it.

Be warned, the list does contain numerous very unsavoury links but it's worth looking at because of what legal stuff is on there.

Danger Dave has made the list. As has Abby Winters, I Shot Myself, I Spy Cameltoe, The Hun, Pussy.org and a bunch of other consenting-adults sites.

There's also Youtube links, Wikipedia links, gambling sites, euthanasia sites, gay social networking sites and even a Christian swingers group. Not sure why a boarding kennel site is there but you can't trust those dogs, they're always humping something.

[Torn Rose]

Hate to sound ignorant, but we rarely hear news on Politics in Australia, how far right is it and has it always been this way?

[Pagan]

It is appalling, but again a reminder that freedom of speech is priceless. How do you fight it? Appealing to the world? How do they intend on enforcing it?

[Ms Naughty]

A quick rundown. In 2000 the govt made it illegal to host x-rated material on Australian servers. So naturally everyone just moved to servers overseas. This blacklist has been compiled and sent to Australian ISPs to ensure they don't host the "bad URLs." The list is compiled via a complaints mechanism. Basically, if you see a site that offends you personally, you complain and it goes on the list. Apparently there's no review process, things can be banned on the say-so of one beaurocrat.

The list is also a compilation of CP sites. I'd say most of them have since been shut down by the police but the URLs stay there.

Up until now the list hasn't been a big issue, really. But over the last year our govt has been saying they want to introduce a mandatory ISP filter, using this secret blacklist as a basis. So anything on that list would not be available to Australians, in the same way that sites are blocked in China.

We don't have a bill of rights here so there's no such thing as freedom of speech in law.

The politicians are using all the usual excuses - somebody think of the children, we're protecting them, it's all about CP etc. But the anti-abortion site on the top of that list is there because a protester deliberately made a complaint to the AMCA to see what they'd do. And yep, they banned it without a second thought.

So basically, this is the list that shows what sites Aussies won't be able to see if the filter goes ahead. And naturally they'll keep adding stuff to it, in secret.

It's legal to view and buy X-rated (hardcore) movies in Australia but not to host them on servers.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/...054961100.html

Edit: Forgot to say - we're not supposed to be "far right" anymore. This stupid policy has been implement by the Labor party, who used to be lefties. The whole idea was proposed by a left-leaning intellectual who is otherwise very smart but he seems to have a thing about porn.

[Torn Rose]

Geeze, that is just scary in so many ways.

[SheepGuy]

Sounds like Canada, or the US for that matter, no difference between two political parties, one considered left, one considered right, when it comes to free speech, neither party supports democracy.

Democracy should start with the individual's rights, if it doesn't start there then it's a dictatorship by the "perceived" majority. I say "perceived" because decisions on what should be personal options seem to be made by people appointed or elected to office who have never had the majority of people agree on every decision they've made, so they can't ever say they speak for the majority.

To call a system where you elect someone to make decisions for you that you could make yourself is not democracy, it's passing the buck.

Not offering any solutions, just questioning how "they" can get away with telling anyone in any country what they can see or read.

But I'm an anarchist, and believe one law would work far better than the millions we suffer from now.

"Do whatever you want to do, as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's right to do what they want to do."

[Ms Naughty]

The government has now denied that it's the real blacklist... but still threatened any Australian who links to the Wikileaks page with fines and jail.

Response from the punters has been overwhelming - people are pissed off.

What's amazing about this is that it proves just how wonderful for democracy the internet can be. A shitstorm has erupted over this issue in just a few hours. And it's also exactly why governments are now tripping over themselves to control the net. Britain and Germany are watching this very closely, I'm sure.

[InfoGuy]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

Basically, if you see a site that offends you personally, you complain and it goes on the list. Apparently there's no review process, things can be banned on the say-so of one beaurocrat.

Since submissions are so easy, can you complain and add politician and *.gov.au sites that personally offend you to the blacklist?

[Useless]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

The government has now denied that it's the real blacklist... but still threatened any Australian who links to the Wikileaks page with fines and jail.

Holy fucking Fascism, Batgirl!

[Simon]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

We don't have a bill of rights here so there's no such thing as freedom of speech in law.

I have to ask, why aren't the people demanding a Bill of Rights? I've never looked at what rights people are or aren't guaranteed in Australia, but for some reason I always assumed that freedom of speech was guaranteed there. It's kind of hard to believe that the people who live in Australia wouldn't support free speech being protected by law, so I'm guessing that there's some reason it's never become law there.

[blinki bill]

Man, i didn't know thinks are going so bad in Australia...
But what's freedom of speech anyway? Even countries that have it and you think it's granted use their illegal hidden tactics to shut your mouth if you are going to far or getting too much of an audience...

In my opinion if your country goes bad in that kind of sense and the people there are not trying to stop it you can always move somewhere else... That's what i done when got pissed of similar kind of bullshit in my own country

[LD]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

And it's also exactly why governments are now tripping over themselves to control the net. Britain and Germany are watching this very closely, I'm sure.

Yeah, I'm getting paranoid about that. Everytime I Google something political, it seems I get bunch of right wing blogs and editorials...misinformation, etc.

I can only imagine the political forces at work, behind the scenes, to make sure only select information comes up in search engines.

[SCORE-Cash]

We do pretty good selling our UK Edition (No Penetration) and International Edition (FULL hardcore) in Australia.

The only issue with the aussies is the young girl videos/magazines but they still take them.

[Ms Naughty]

There is a movement to institute a bill of rights but prominent politicians and lawyers are opposing it. They say that a US style system where the courts rule on issues of freedom of speech means that it's unelected judges who decide law, not the government. I can see their point but it's gotta be better than what we've got.

Wikileaks was offline for hours after the leak yesterday, they're back again now. Interestingly, Slickcash's webmaster site is listed, it's the only one I could spot, although there are several paysites by Platinum cash listed.

Since the list focuses on exact URLs, I was amazed to see several affiliate codes in there too.

[Pagan]

I just love how governments think they can pull off a stunt like this with nobody protesting or caring. Guess it really backfired this time. Maybe countries that want to shut down personal freedoms should just plain pull the plug on anything that enters or leaves on the various pipelines. China's access to the net starts and stops at their borders. Then they don't have to try to censor ANY of my sites. I did block several ranges by IP after I had a bunch of bandwitch abuse.

As long as you are following your local laws and have taken the recommended steps to properly label your sites, why harm LEGITIMATE businesses? Business owners are taxpayers AND voters and many are parents, too. None of us are out there advocating total anarchy (except for Sheepguy), and most want to be able to conduct our businesses in a profitable manner. I don't want to make the decisions for other parents on when they want their offspring to access porn but I do want my sites properly labeled and registered so that they can be addressed BY THE RESPONSIBLE ADULTS. Not some bloated government that can't even tie its own shoes without wasting millions of dollars on environmental impact studies and needless regulation and can't even turn on a computer without having an assistant do it for them.

What is offensive to me may not be offensive to others. Why should I have the right to put ANY site on such a list. Even if it advocates the overthrow of a government, there is a voice behind it that deserves to be heard and probably laughed at. What are the Aussies afraid of?

[nekrom]

I hope it gets passed, we have to think of the children. That will teach the sheep to vote for the communist party, mandarin speaking, union loving, labour fuck sticks.

Labour has to suck the Christian lobbyists cocks, such as Steve Fielding. Or they can't pass anything though the senate. They should call a double dissolution election already and kick those fuck heads out of the senate.

-N

[nekrom]

Originally Posted by Pagan

What is offensive to me may not be offensive to others. Why should I have the right to put ANY site on such a list. Even if it advocates the overthrow of a government, there is a voice behind it that deserves to be heard and probably laughed at. What are the Aussies afraid of?

Because the Christian/Catholic nutjobs that are in the Federal Government know better then you. They have to protect the children and if you disagree with this ideology, then you must be a supporter of all the bad things on the net.

-N

[tickler]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

There is a movement to institute a bill of rights but prominent politicians and lawyers are opposing it. They say that a US style system where the courts rule on issues of freedom of speech means that it's unelected judges who decide law, not the government. I can see their point but it's gotta be better than what we've got.

In Canada, as a former "colony" we have only recently instituted our bill of rights. The current prime minister has mentioned that there are things that he would like to do but the supreme court would most likely rule against him.

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

Wikileaks was offline for hours after the leak yesterday, they're back again now. Interestingly, Slickcash's webmaster site is listed, it's the only one I could spot, although there are several paysites by Platinum cash listed.

Apparently they were getting massive traffic.

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

Since the list focuses on exact URLs, I was amazed to see several affiliate codes in there too.

They say that the filters will kill internet speeds. Can you imagine if the list got inflated with zillions of FHG links.

[NY Jester]

the site seems to be down for me

[RageCash-Ben]

This has turned into a joke and will never get anywhere. Thank fuck.

[tickler]

One gets the feeling the Australian communications minister(Chief Censor), Stephen Conroy doesn't quite realise who he's threating.


WikiLeaks tells censorship minister to RACK off
Should the Senator or anyone else attempt to discover our source we will refer the matter to the Constitutional Police for prosecution, and, if necessary, ask that the Senator and anyone else involved be extradited to face justice for breaching fundamental rights.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03...sie_firewall_/

[mist]

No free speech, come on, is that for real?! If it is, I really feel sorry for all the people in Australia.

[Ms Naughty]

Wow. Now they're going to start monitoring blogs and other online sites critical of the plan:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/la...0321-951z.html

Every day this just gets weirder and weirder. I can expect Ms Naughty to be on a watchlist, then, since I've blogged about this issue a lot.

By the way, this stupid government department doesn't seem to know the difference between a "blog" and a "forum."

[Pagan]

Originally Posted by nekrom

I hope it gets passed, we have to think of the children. That will teach the sheep to vote for the communist party, mandarin speaking, union loving, labour fuck sticks.

... Because the Christian/Catholic nutjobs that are in the Federal Government know better then you. They have to protect the children and if you disagree with this ideology, then you must be a supporter of all the bad things on the net.

-N

That is extremely dangerous, and I do hope it does not pass. This type of law does NOT protect children in any way, shape, or form. All it does is waste taxpayer dollars and force businesses to move to other countries if they are lucky or shut down if they don't want to deal with it. It isn't just CP on those lists - it is ANY site that somebody objects to. I am irate that they are going after legitimate websites and lumping them in with criminals. Name me one child that was harmed by DangerDave, the Hun, or a gay social networking site. Just one.

I am absolutely sick and tired of lazy parents who want the state to do everything for them. It is not MY responsibility to control what their offspring see, it is theirs and theirs entirely. I do follow a lot of rules - warning pages with no hardcore, registration of domains with filtering agencies, and meta tags. I don't use consoles, either and I pay for my hosting. Now if you want to put ethical webmasters out of business and have the market flooded by jerks that don't care, you will have a lot more to worry about.

In the meantime, what's next? What if the government doesn't like the way you wipe your butt and then fail to wash your hands. You know we have had a rise in deaths here in the states from bacteria found in feces. And summer is almost here. With the rise in temperatures, we will see a rise in e, coli infections - surely caused by babies with dirty bums swimming in that pool with you. Are you going to be happy when the government starts regulating your bodily functions and then taxing you even more? Be very careful what you wish for, Nekrom.

[anasporn]

Pagan, nekrom was employing a very thick layer of sarcasm with a dash of cynical parody.