Bloggers cry "foul" as web censor ring tightens

IT has been dubbed the Great Barrier -- a vast ring of censorship that the Government wants to wrap around the internet, ostensibly to protect the young from child pornography.

IT has been dubbed the Great Barrier -- a vast ring of censorship that the Government wants to wrap around the internet, ostensibly to protect the young from child pornography.

The idea for it came from the left-wing Australia Institute, headed by academic Clive Hamilton, who says it will filter out child porn, and other "unwanted" content.

The filter has since been adopted by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, who insists that it will be used only to block child pornography and other "illegal material".

The filter will be tested from next week. You will not be able to opt out of at least one part of it, and it will slow down internet speeds. Ageing hippies, young firebrands and others who have some experience with governments and censorship believe the filter will grow and tighten from the day it becomes law.

Opponents are gathering in the real world but also, critically, in the blogosphere -- an online world of chat and debate -- to vehemently protest against the filter, which blocks content that you might want and are quite within your rights to see.

More than 85,000 people have signed a petition organised online by GetUp! The British website, Spiked, has devoted pages to the issue.

The New York Times has addressed the issue, quoting Senator Conroy as saying the filter is part of a $100million "cyber-safety plan".

If the Great Barrier is erected, opponents say, internet censorship will be as draconian in Australia as in China, and perhaps worse. What is at stake, they say, is freedom of speech, a pillar of democracy.

The second part of the trial involves an optional filter that people can choose to use, to filter violent content and pornography. Mark White, the chief operating officer at iiNet, Australia's third-largest service provider, told The New York Times: "Our view is there are some serious shortfalls in what is being proposed."

More than 1000 people have used Senator Conroy's new blog to protest against the filter. "It is, quite simply, impossible to censor the internet without a China-type clampdown," said one commentator.

Some commentators feared the Government was trying to find a way to censor sexual fantasies, or impose the "correct line" on sex.

The censorship barrier can't become law without support from the Greens, who have said they'll vote against it.

The Opposition will also vote against its current form.