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September Newsletter 1999
Feeling Safe Stay Safe Newsletter
Welcome again it's that time to renew the newsletter; it comes around fast when you are busy enjoying life. This issue is review information regarding the Internet, and contains 3 articles that may interest readers:
Contents
- New Internet Legislation
- Protecting your Children
- Dangers on the Internet; What every parent should know
New Internet Legislation
Recently, the federal government introduced a new bill that it plans to send through parliament that affects Internet access. The intent of the bill is to clamp down on the availability of RC, X and R rated material on the Internet.
Whilst many agree with the intent of the bill, the Internet industry is dismayed at the way the bill proposes to address the problem. In essence, users will be able to complain to the government about content on the Internet. The government will then review it and if it is deemed inappropriate they will force the ISPs to remove it within 24 hours.
However, in implementing this scheme, there are many loopholes and requirements that make it unworkable and potentially devastating on the growth of the Net in Australia.
There are many issues, which are detailed in depth at the web pages at the end of this article, but just a few include:
* Stiff penalties if ISP miss content. With the sheer volume of content on the Internet, and the myriad of ways it can be transmitted, missing content is practically guaranteed that will open the ISPs to liability.
* It affects all technologies, including Mail, News and Chat. The legislation is not specifically for the web. Even your mailbox, news articles, downloadable files and chat channels are covered by the legislation. Many of these we have no technical way to block in accordance with the law, nor would we want to act as censors of private material such as your mailbox.
* It is more restrictive than laws covering books and videos. Many also argue that X rated material, which will now be banned on the Internet, is legal via other means and therefore the Internet will become more restricted than videos or magazines.
The campaign against this bill is being spearheaded by Electronic Frontiers Australia, a group who is devoted to protecting civil liberties on the Internet. The WA Internet Association has also compiled resources pages on the issue.
EFA: http://www.efa.org.au/Campaigns/99.html
WAIA: http://www.waia.asn.au/Issues/Regulation/DCITA/
Reproduced from Solid Ground newsletter with permission from Gihan Pereira
Quote:
I know that many of my readers live outside Australia, but if you're a parent, you may still find this article useful.
Protecting your children
If you want to stop your children from viewing inappropriate material on the Internet, you have five choices:
1. Raise responsible children, who avoid this material by choice.
2. Supervise your children's use of the Internet.
3. Stop the material when it reaches your computer.
4. Stop it getting to your computer.
5. Stop people publishing it.
Clearly, the first option offers the best long-term solution. And the second option is essential with primary school children; regardless of any other measures you take.
I've conducted introductory Internet training courses for parents, and I find that most parents want to understand the technology in order to make decisions about how their children use it. They don't necessarily want the government to make those decisions for them.
The government doesn't see it that way. Rather than allocating money to adult education and increasing community awareness, it's trying to solve the problem by forcing the Internet industry to use technical solutions (the last two options above).
Unfortunately, it won't work (We'll see why in a minute). In fact, the government's own research body, the CSIRO, prepared a report that concluded, "blocking implemented purely by technological means will be ineffective, and neither of the above (technical) approaches should be mandated."
Now let's look at what the legislation actually demands.
What gets blocked?
The legislation defines inappropriate material as R rated material published in Australia, X rated material and RC (Refused Classification) material. The ratings are the same as those used to classify films.
If you're a parent, it's important to recognise that this is ALL that's banned by the legislation. In particular, your children are NOT protected from:
1. R rated material outside Australia
2. Unclassified material that you might still consider inappropriate
Who does the blocking?
Most people in Australia get access to the Internet by connecting to an Internet service provider (ISP). Your ISP provides two services:
1. Allowing people to publish their own material on the Internet.
2. Giving people a "door" to the Internet.
Other people (for example, large companies and universities) use other ways of getting access to the Internet, but for the purpose of the new legislation (and this article), we treat them the same way as ISPs.
If you're looking for purely technical solutions to blocking inappropriate material, there are three places to block it: When it's published, when it's delivered to you, and when you receive it. Theoretically, ISPs control the first two, so that's where the Government's new laws take aim. The new legislation puts the responsibility on the gatekeepers of the Internet - the ISPs.
How does the blocking happen?
The Internet changes so quickly that it's impossible to keep up with every new Web site that appears. Theoretically, ISPs CAN block all inappropriate material, but only at a huge cost (Just like Australia Post CAN check every piece of mail it delivers and Telstra CAN monitor every telephone call).
So the new laws work on the basis of customer complaints. For example, if you find a Web site containing inappropriate material (as defined above), you complain to the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), which investigates your complaint and then issues one of two directives:
1. For Web sites in Australia, it notifies the ISP hosting that site to take it down.
2. For Web sites outside Australia, it notifies your ISP to block access to it.
How does this affect ISPs?
This article is mostly about how the new laws affect users, but I want to take a moment to talk about ISPs, because their costs will almost certainly increase, and they'll pass those on to you.
At first glance, the new system looks reasonable. ISPs continue to allow access as before, and aren't responsible for the inappropriate material until it's brought to their attention.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. To understand why, think of ISPs as the roads and landlords on the Internet. They carry traffic and own land, but they don't dictate what car you drive or what you build on your land.
With that in mind, let's look at the problems.
First, the legislation requires that ISPs remove or block the material within 24 hours, or face large fines. This creates a huge administrative burden, especially for small ISPs.
Second, if the ABA tells an ISP to remove offending material from its site, it's only required to describe the material, not necessarily to tell the ISP where to find it. An ISP could be forced to search through hundreds or thousands of its users' Web sites to find that material!
Third, even if we assume that the ABA tells the ISP where to find the material (a reasonable assumption in practice), the ABA can order the ISP to block "substantially similar" material to that in the original complaint. Same problem! The only way for the ISP to find this similar material is to manually examine each of its users' Web sites.
Fourth, after the ISP removes the material, they are not allowed to host that material again. ISP's simply can't meet this requirement. Remember that they don't control what their users publish. Even if they take down somebody's material, that person can simply give it to another user to publish on their Web site. If the two users happen to use the same ISP, the ISP - despite taking prompt, decisive action - is now breaking the law!
Is there anything good about this law?
Yes.
First, it clarifies the responsibilities of ISPs. In the past, users complained directly to ISPs about offensive material, and ISPs made their own judgments about how to act on those complaints. Now the position is clearer (in the same way as cinemas and moviegoers understand film ratings).
It also gives Australia a common nationwide approach to Internet law, replacing the different laws that some States and Territories enacted earlier.
So what is a better solution?
Learn, learn, and learn!
The only meaningful long-term way to protect your children is to learn the technology and teach your children how to use it responsibly.
Senator Alston, who wrote the new law, correctly says, "The reality is that there is a significant percentage of the population that is not only computer illiterate but profoundly uncomfortable with the technology."
Unfortunately, his actions don't support his words. The government media release announcing the law encourages parents to "take the time to inform themselves", and then offers the throwaway line, "A good place to start is the Family Website developed by the ABA (www.aba.gov.au/family)". Presumably the "computer illiterate" population will magically know what "www.aba.gov.au/family" means!
In summary ...
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, the Australian Democrats (an Australian political party) spokesperson for Information Technology, summarises it well when she says:
"The Democrats are not in favour of inappropriate materials being available to minors. This legislation is not the answer. It is bad law and it will not be successful in controlling content.
If you're a parent, recognise that the new legislation will NOT protect your children from all inappropriate material on the Internet. In fact, it INCREASES the risk for some children because their parents will give them more freedom in the mistaken belief that the government has solved the problem!
The government also advises parents to use "filtering" technology on their own computers (which virtually admits that its own legislation is ineffective). But this is flawed as well! Don't rely on any software package to protect your children. This is a human problem, and you can't solve it by throwing more technology at it.
Let's hope that the present and future governments take some proactive steps to help educate the population rather than taking ineffective measures to protect it.
Until then, it's up to you! "
End quote
The Queensland Commission for Children shared the following information sheet at the last Protective Behaviours Conference in Brisbane….perhaps this excerpt can assist you as parents to aid protecting your children from access to inappropriate material on the net.
Parents can greatly minimize any potential risks of being online by adopting sensible guidelines.
1. Select a reliable service provider and discuss children's online safety with them.
2. Place the computer in a central location where the while family can use it and you can supervise its use and see what comes up on the screen.
3. Learn about the Internet with the child.
4. Restrict your child's online access by using software programs such as Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny and Surf Watch, which limit the web sites the child can visit.
5. Endeavour to establish agreed clear family guidelines about using the Internet.
6. Set time limits for use, monitor the time used, watch the phone bills and credit card charges.
7. Encourage children to utilize chat groups or newspaper groups or send E-mail messages only with your permission and your supervision.
8. Ensure children do not give out any information such as name, age, sex, and home address school or telephone number.
9. Dissuade children from having secret pen pals or arranging secret meetings with people through the net.
10. Get to know your children's online habits, the sites entered and information offered.
11. Block objectionable material using cyber patrol etc.
12. Never respond to messages or Bulletin Board items that are suggestive, obscene, or threatening.
13. Encourage your children to report such experiences to you.
14. Forward a copy of any such messages to your service provider and ask for their assistance.
15. Should you become aware of any child pornography on line note any relevant details and report the matter to the Children's Commission &endash; free call 1800 688 275.
16. Don't let the children engage in online shopping. Never give out a credit card number or password on line.
17. Suggest that your children adopt a "Safety Agreement"
I hope you found this issue of our newsletter on line, interesting as parents and workers who may be advising parents…I again welcome submissions of articles relating to the topic of personal or community safety for consideration, with a view to publication on this site, from anyone who may visit this site.
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