SYDNEY, Australia -- With just over three weeks to go before new Internet censorship regulations go into effect here, confusion and controversy continue to reign.
The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) -- the national body charged with implementing the law -- has expanded its Web site to provide ISPs and content hosts information about their new responsibilities.
Meanwhile, a proposed industry code appears on track to be approved by the ABA, forestalling more direct control over Internet content by the broadcast authority.
Under the new law that takes effect 1 January, a ratings system -- similar to that already in place for books and movies -- will be applied to Internet content. Content deemed overly sexually explicit, violent, or offensive can be ordered taken down by the ABA if housed on servers in Australia. If the offending content is hosted offshore, end users must provide ISPs the means to block it.
However, only content subjected to a written complaint to the ABA will be examined, rated, and possibly ordered taken down or filtered. If there are no complaints, there'll be no ratings or government intervention, says Stephen Nugent, the ABA's special projects manager in charge of implementing the regulations.
"We'll be interested to see what level of complaints we receive," he said. "If we think a complaint is frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith or with the intent of undermining the regime, we have the discretion not to investigate."
The most likely avenue for complaints will be the ABA's Web site, and Nugent hints strongly the ABA won't come down with a heavy hammer on the New Year -- even if there are a lot of complaints.
"It's going to be a gradual process over time," Nugent said. "We'll be working in a co-regulatory fashion with industry so everyone becomes aware of the scheme."
For his part, Peter Coroneos, executive director of the Australian Internet Industry Association, says the industry code will emphasize each end user's responsibility in determining the level of unfiltered content he receives.
For example, ISPs only need to direct users to information about the new regime and to offer them filtering software to install on their own computers. If ISPs want to offer ISP-level filtering for the technically illiterate -- or as a means of building "family-friendly" branding -- that's a commercial decision that's up to them alone.
No ISP will be compelled to engage in ISP-level filtering, he stresses.
After the new law was passed 30 June, many Australian ISPs had argued mandatory filtering of all offshore content coming into Australia would have been technically impossible and potentially financially ruinous.
Despite soothing statements from both Nugent and Coroneos about the benign nature of the new regulations, many in Australia's Internet industry remain highly apprehensive and wholly unconvinced.
For example, Tony Hill, executive director of the user-oriented Internet Society of Australia, claims 20,000 to 30,000 online business in Australia could find themselves caught in the net of the new rules. That's because firms providing Internet access to subcontractors and/or casual workers could be considered ISPs under the new regulation, he says.
That might mean small businesses would have to dedicate space on their servers for information about the new law and the associated filtering software, as well as keeping offshore content "blacklists" up to date.
"What kind of impact might this have on Gene's Flower Shop with five employees?" says Hill. "Many of these business may not even be aware they're subject to this law."
He also says not enough specifics have been released on what content filtering software is permissible under the new law, leaving a huge question mark hanging in the air so soon before the new rules go into effect.
For an exasperated Terry O'Connor, spokesman for communications minister Richard Alston, it shows that the Chicken Littles aren't getting the message.
"Unless you're planning to house highly objectionable or illegal content on your site, you don't need to do a thing," O'Connor said. "People are saying the sky is going to fall, but that's just not true."
Richard Siggs operates a small ISP in the national capital of Canberra called Spirit Networks with about 2,500 subscribers. He's highly worried about the new law, but has merely given up trying to figure it out. He's heard nothing from either the government or industry groups on what his responsibilities will be.
"We've seen the odd media article about this, but we've gotten nothing in writing," he said. "If we don't get more information by January 1, we'll have no idea what to do."
Until he does, the new law remains just an unquantifiable business risk. He doesn't like it, but says he's got more immediate things to worry about -- like running his business.
"About a month ago, we just made a judgment to get on with things and not worry about this," he said. "If we get in trouble, we'll probably have plenty of company."
