Internet filtering
Yesterday, Hilary Clinton made a speech committing the USA to the cause of internet freedom.
We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas.
Continue reading Tech Liberty welcomes US defense of internet freedom
The Department of Internal Affairs have released a new version of the Code of Practice (PDF) for their proposed Internet filtering system, as well as the initial membership of the Independent Reference Group (PDF).
The initial members of the Independent Reference Group are:
Continue reading DIA revamps Internet filter Code of Practice
Statistics New Zealand recently released the results of their latest survey of ISPs (Internet Survey Providers). This included data on how many ISPs offered an Internet content filtering service.
Continue reading Internet Filtering Offered by ISPs
Stuff is running a poll about Internet censorship next to an article about the Australian plans to censor the Internet. While online polls aren’t very statistically valid, I was still heartened to see the results:
A total of 87% of the 1964 people who voted were opposed to Internet censorship.
Compare:
Judge David Harvey told the seminar that internet providers (ISPs) should be set up specifically to block suppressed information and issue “take-down” notices to those who had posted it. “Internet content can in fact be managed and controlled. It is a question … of how far we want to go to do that.”
‘Alliance’ needed to enforce name suppression online, Stuff.co.nz
And contrast:
Seeking to deny the protesters a chance to reassert their voice, authorities slowed Internet connections to a crawl in the capital, Tehran. For some periods on Sunday, Web access was completely shut down — a tactic that was also used before last month’s demonstration.
Iran chokes off Internet on eve of student rallies, Yahoo News
Warren Young, Deputy President of the Law Commission, started off the afternoon sessions by talking about the Law Commission’s Suppressing Names and Evidence report (PDF).
General principles:
Updated: see our update to this post.
Sometimes it seems that every day there is another threat to people’s abilities to use the Internet. Each special interest group has their own barrow to push, often with honourable intent, that causes them to make impossible or unreasonable demands.
Today’s effort is from the Law Commission. They’ve published their Suppressing Names and Evidence report and it includes the following (recommendation 26 from the report, page 66, PDF):
Where an internet service provider or content host becomes aware that they are carrying or hosting information that they know is in breach of a suppression order, it should be an offence for them to fail to remove the information or to fail to block access to it as soon as reasonably practicable.
Continue reading Law Commission Demands ISPs Filter the Internet