ADVOCACY, POLICY & NEWS
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Time to retire classification
(From an opinion piece published on ABC Online). Before it came along, we were served by a revolving series of moral panics, changing censorship ministers and a patchwork of different state systems. Many books and films were banned that today would hardly warrant a mention – I wonder how many…
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Facebook address move raises new privacy worries
Update 19/1/11 10am: Looks like Facebook have suspended this scary new feature for now. Facebook, by now almost synonymous with online privacy woes, has made another change to its platform that has privacy experts worried. The latest move, reported in several outlets, expands the information available to Facebook application developers.…
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Europe gets it: Filters don't protect children
The European Internet Services Providers Association (EuroISPA) has spoken out against ISP internet filtering, saying that it is an ineffective band-aid that leaves illegal material online and in the wild. EuroISPA has called on the European Parliament to focus instead on permanently removing the material at its source. Forcing ISPs…
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EFA raises concerns about attack on online commerce
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today questioned the campaign by major retailers to thwart the rise in overseas e-commerce. Major retailers today published an open letter calling on the Government to lower the GST-free threshold on imported items, in a bid to slow the growth of online sales. “We think this…
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Wikileaks – think of the politicians
The Wikileaks saga continues to captivate the public imagination. The drama around Assange and his arrest, the fascinating leaks, and the cyberpunk-style internet war that is raging in the background means this is the story that just keeps on giving. And it’s not just geeks that are soaking up the…
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R18+ games – down but not out
The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) met on Friday, with the creation of an R-18+ category for computer games a top agenda item. Because changes to the classification code require unanimous agreement by all states and the Commonwealth, this is the body where the games reform is going to live…