Project Business Ethics

a) Government policy to encourage Internet industry self-regulation and end-user voluntary use of filtering/blocking technologies.

This approach is taken in the United Kingdom, Canada, and a considerable number of Western European countries. It also appears to be the current approach in New Zealand where applicability of offline classification/censorship laws to content on the Internet seems less than clear.

In these countries laws of general application apply to illegal Internet content such as child pornography and incitement to racial hatred.

Content "unsuitable for minors" is not illegal to make available on the Internet, nor must access to same be controlled by a restricted access system. Some (perhaps all) such governments encourage the voluntary use of, and ongoing development of, technologies that enable Internet users to control their own, and their children's, access to content on the Internet.

b) Criminal law penalties (fines or jail terms) applicable to content providers who make content "unsuitable for minors" available online.

This approach is taken in some Australian State jurisdictions and has been attempted in the USA (although no such US Federal law is presently enforceable, and to the best of EFA's knowledge nor is any such US State law).

In these countries, in addition, laws of general application apply to content that is illegal for reasons other than its unsuitability for children, such as child pornography.

c) Government mandated blocking of access to content deemed unsuitable for adults.

This approach is taken in Australian Commonwealth law (although it has not been enforced in this manner to date) and also in, for example, China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. Some countries require Internet access providers to block material while others only allow restricted access to the Internet through a government controlled access point.

d) Government prohibition of public access to the Internet.

A number of countries either prohibit general public access to the Internet, or require Internet users to be registered/licensed by a government authority before permitting them restricted access as in (c) above. Information on countries in this category is available in the Reporters Without Borders/Reporters Sans Frontiers report Enemies of the Internet of February 2001.

In the many countries that have Internet censorship laws far more restrictive than those existing or proposed in Australia, governmental focus appears to be on prohibiting and/or restricting politically sensitive speech, criticism of the government, etc. These governments do not appear to have any focus on prohibiting or restricting content deemed unsuitable for minors as distinct from content deemed unsuitable for adults.

Commentary on the ineffectiveness of legislation like the NSW Bill to protect children on the Internet often focuses on the USA constitutional right to freedom of speech and the US Supreme Court having struck down a similar law. However, from a global perspective, the law in the USA is irrelevant. Even in the highly unlikely event that the USA and Australia enacted identical laws, these would remain ineffective in protecting minors on the global Internet.

Concerns about access to content on the Internet vary markedly around the world and regulatory policy reflects this. What is illegal in one country is not illegal in others, and what is deemed unsuitable for minors in one country is not in others. For example films classified R18 in Australia are often classified suitable for persons under 18 years in other countries, e.g. Intimacy (sex scenes) and Hannibal (violence) are classified 18 in Australia, but are classified 12 in France. However, France prohibits the display of Nazi memorabilia, including on web pages, which is not prohibited by Australian offline laws nor by existing or proposed online censorship laws. Many similar examples exist that demonstrate the ineffectiveness of national censorship laws to protect children (or adults) on the Internet.

The USA is not the only country where citizens have a right to freedom of expression. In contrast to Australia, governments in comparable countries including Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and various European countries have chosen to legislate to give citizens a right in domestic law to freedom of expression similar to that contained in the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Such a right is by no means absolute and does not prevent governments from enacting or enforcing laws restricting freedom of expression. However, to the best of EFA's knowledge, governments in these countries have not enacted or indicated any intent to enact, Internet censorship legislation as restrictive of adults' freedom of expression, as that existing and proposed in Australia.