Law NEWS - Bill to address crime and terrorism related internet content
The Government has introduced the Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007 into the Senate.
If enacted, the Bill would amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) (Act) to effectively enable the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to "black list" international and domestic websites that have criminal or terrorism-related content, through the following procedure:
- the AFP would refer a website with criminal or terrorism-related content to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA);
- ACMA would be required to notify Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) of the target website; and
- ISPs would then be required to take "reasonable steps" to prevent end-users from accessing these websites (ie, by using the ISPs' filters to exclude end-users' access to the websites).
Filter suppliers under the NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online program would also be required to ensure that their filters prevent end-users from accessing the target websites.
The Bill has been subject to criticism by the media and industry experts, who argue that the AFP's referral power is too broad and, consequently, curtails free speech and is open to abuse. It remains to be seen whether these factors will impact on the Bill's passage through the Senate.
Source: Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers