THE determination of the federal government to go ahead with mandatory internet filtering is not only creating diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Washington but is casting a dark cloud over the beleaguered $43 billion national broadband project.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is believed to have been summoned to a meeting with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week after media reports revealed the US was concerned that this ran contrary to its policy of encouraging an open internet to promote economic growth and global security. One senior cabinet minister is said to have responded to the US reaction by telling Conroy: "With internet censorship you won't need a national broadband network."
Conroy believes internet companies should be required to block blacklisted websites carrying illegal and abhorrent material such as child pornography. His detractors say the impact of this action needs to be weighed against the economic, social and educational benefits of the internet. They also point out that there is a wide range of home-based filters commercially available to the community.
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