“Whatever its starting point and expressed intention, the end of the censor’s road is repression
of dangerous’ ideas – not only about sex but about morals, politics, art and life. Opposition to
censorship must inevitably involve us in defending things and people whom we may dislike and
disapprove of (sometimes passionately). Voltaire’s well known saying that ‘I detest what you say,
but will defend to the death your right to say it’ may seem trite to us but is as apposite as it ever was.“– Antony Grey, 1995
- Information about on-line censorship legislation in Australia and related government inquiries, regulatory proposals, EFA campaigns, reports, analyses, etc. Includes information about the Commonwealth Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999 and Classification Act, and State/Territory Classification Acts. See EFA’s Internet Censorship Laws in Australia Page. For information about other laws restricting on-line freedom of speech, such as Criminal Code offences, defamation laws, racial vilification laws, etc, see below.
- An EFA report on government policy and/or laws regarding Internet censorship in various countries around the world, March 2002. See EFA’s Internet Censorship – Law & Policy Around the World Page.
- Information about mandatory ISP filtering proposals in Australia and why such systems would not be effective in protecting children, whether or not mandatory ISP based filtering is, or becomes, both technically feasible and technically practical. See EFA’s analysis of Labor’s Mandatory ISP Filtering / Blocking proposal announced in March 2006.
- Information about filtering software (commercial and free), reviews of filter products, Australian ISPs offering filtered access, and links to reputable sites providing Internet safety tips, advice and information for parents about child safety on the Internet. See EFA’s Content Filtering and Blocking Page.
- Information about content rating, labelling, and filtering systems, including information on standards such as PICS, and rating systems such as ICRA (formerly RSACi). See EFA’s Content Rating and Filtering Systems Page.
- Details of EFA’s submissions and applications to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (Censorship) and Attorney-General’s Department concerning the C’th Classification Act and related Classification Guidelines, etc. See EFA’s Classification: Censorship by Another Name Page.
- Information about Commonwealth criminal offences, enacted since 2004, that are specifically directed to restricting freedom to speak and read by use of telecommunications and Internet services (carriage services). See EFA’s Criminal Offences (C’th) – Use of an Internet Service Page.
- An introduction to defamation laws, focusing primarily on Australian civil defamation laws, and the applicability of those laws to material published via the Internet. See EFA’s Defamation Laws and the Internet Page.
- Details of EFA’s submissions and information about Australian racial vilification laws and their applicability to material published via the Internet. See EFA’s Racial Vilification/Hatred and the Internet Page.
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Other Resources
- Links to other resources on Censorship and Free Speech issues. See EFA’s Other Resources Page.
