The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) chief has said the Australian government will embarrass itself if it pushes ahead with plans to install a national Internet content filter.

The group is a non-profit corporation that oversees management of domain names and IP addresses, Internet Protocol address space allocation and generic Top Level Domains.

ICANN board chair Peter Dengate Thrush said national Internet content filters are ineffective at law enforcement. The plan was introduced by federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.

The government has set itself up for embarrassment, Thrush said: I have no problems with the principle behind it [but] censoring material outside the country is difficult and the tools to do it cost a lot.

Internet Villain

The Australian Federal Government has now set its sights on gamers, promising to use its internet censorship regime to block websites hosting and selling video games that are not suitable for 15 year olds.

Separately, the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has been nominated by the British ISP industry for its annual internet villain award, competing alongside the European Parliament and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Australia is the only developed country without an R18+ classification for games, meaning any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence or sexual content - are simply banned from sale by the Classification Board, unless they are modified to remove the offending content.

So far, this has only applied to local bricks-and-mortar stores selling physical copies of games, but a spokesman for Senator Conroy confirmed that under the filtering plan, it will be extended to downloadable games, flash-based web games and sites which sell physical copies of games that do not meet the MA15+ standard.

This means that even Australians who are aged above 15 and want to obtain the adult-level games online will be unable to do so. It will undoubtedly raise the ire of gamers, the average age of which is 30 in Australia, according to research commissioned by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia.

Colin Jacobs, spokesman for the online users' lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, said the Government clearly went far beyond any mandate it had from the public to help parents deal with cyber-safety. He said Australians would soon learn this the hard way when they find web pages mysteriously blocked: This is confirmation that the scope of the mandatory censorship scheme will keep on creeping. Far from being the ultimate weapon against child abuse, it now will officially censor content deemed too controversial for a 15-year-old. In a free country like ours, do we really need the government to step in and save us from racy web games?

Senator Conroy's spokesman said the filter would cover computer games such as web-based flash games and downloadable games, if a complaint is received and the content is determined by ACMA to be Refused Classification. All games that exceed MA15+ are deemed to be RC.

The filtering could also block the importation of physical copies of computer games sold over the internet which have been classified RC, the spokesman said.

Update: Second Life Banned

27th June 2009. See article from inquisitr.com

Commentators are pointing out that enormously popular online game Second Life has an adults only section so will be blocked according to the Australian government policy confirmed above.

Some Australians aren't laughing about Will Ferrell's latest movie Land of the Lost, the most complained-about film this year.

The Classification Board has received 19 complaints about Land of the Lost in the two weeks since its release.

Objectors argued that its sexual references and coarse language made its PG (parental guidance) rating inappropriate.

Herald Sun critic Leigh Paatsch pre-empted such concerns in his review of the film: Parents should ignore the inaccurate PG rating Australian censors have given Land of the Lost. This tripe will just rot the minds of children.

Also clocking up 19 complaints this year was the graphic novel adaptation Watchmen, released in March with an MA15+ rating. Some viewers objected to its violence, nudity and a particularly violent sex scene.

Another R18+ horror film, Seed, which went straight to DVD, received complaints about its graphic opening scene, which featured actual footage of animals being skinned alive. The footage was supplied by the animal rights activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Heist film The Bank Job, which starred British tough guy Jason Statham, received seven complaints about sex scenes and nudity. It was rated MA15+ and carried the advice that it contained strong coarse language and sexual references.

The release date of a government discussion paper on an R18+ rating for games looks to have been delayed.

The Attorney General's department promised this year to release the paper to collate public opinion on the need for a R18+ classification for video games.

But now a spokesman for the AG office said the release of the paper will be delayed along with its slated July 31 closure date after a cabinet reshuffle saw Brendan O'Conner replace former Minster of Home Affairs Bob Debus who introduced the paper early this year.

The paper is under consideration by government... clearly it will most likely be extended past the [July 31] closure date, he said.

Media advisers, who are also reshuffling, will next week provide Computerworld with further details on the progress of the paper and planned release date. Responsibility for the discussion paper will remain with O'Conner.

IEAA CEO Ron Curry said he feared the ministerial reshuffle may have killed the consultation paper after the government had not responded to repeated requests to move forward the classification debate: We are not sure what [O'Conner's] position is on the issue... We have lobbied the government for five years, and quite extensively this year.. where do you go?.

Police have raided a major Melbourne porn business. Detectives raided five premises as part of Operation Refuge, seizing computers containing footage of women allegedly performing hardcore, which is ludicrously illegal to produce in Victoria.

Police raided the Fitzroy head office of G Media - which provides material for the well known abbywinters.com website - and arrested its director, Garion Hall.

It is believed Hall denies any wrongdoing.

Yesterday's raids came after the Herald Sun snitched to police with a dossier of information about the allegedly illegal porn G Media, and companies associated with it.

G Media is believed to receive about $30 a month from 30,000 subscribers to its website, which contains more than 370,000 explicit images and almost 4000 sex videos.

The company specialises in filming female teenage students and backpackers in Melbourne and has explicit photographs and videos of almost 1200 young women on its website, many listed as being aged 18 and 19.

Police have seen a copy of a driver's licence of one G Media nude model, allegedly showing she was 17 when photographed. It is not known if Hall knew of her age.

Hall was later released, but possibly faces charges of making objectionable films for gain, which carries a maximum jail term of two years. Each of G Media's 30 employees could also be charged with the same offence.

Yarra CIU Sen-Det Steven Boskovski said police were likely to make more arrests.

We're still identifying the hierarchy involved, he said. We're very satisfied with the content we've secured.

Garion Hall Statement

Based on article from somebodythinkofthechildren.com

The director of G Media, Garion Hall, has issued a statement about a police raid on his company this week.

Hall said yesterday morning (Monday 15 June, 2009) Victoria Police acted on a warrant to search the premises of the adult web business AbbyWinters.com. The raid was instigated by a tabloid journalist from the Herald Sun. The journalist has written about AbbyWinters.com in the past, trying to encourage authorities to act.

Hall said no charges have been laid by the police and that no hardware was seized. Police were supplied with copies of all information that they requested and they (the police) were polite and amiable.

He appreciates the support of Eros, staff, website members and models, and is hopeful of a successful outcome.

Eros Executive Officer, Fiona Patten, told me that Eros fully supports their long term member and their right to provide non-violent erotica.

Comment: Police Wanking Over Abby Winters Raid

25th June 2009. Thanks to Alan

I particularly liked the quote from the plod:

"We're still identifying the hierarchy involved," he said. "We're very satisfied with the content we've secured."

Glad to know the coppers enjoyed their J Arthur over the material they'd grabbed.

Note by the way that the Abby Winters site contains only nude, girl/girl and masturbation material. To my, non-antipodean eyes, the site looks like mildly transgressive erotica - with such stuff as groups of girls exercising nude. The only mildly disturbing, if not entirely unexpected, feature is that "Abby Winters", a supposed Aussie Suze Randall, doesn't really exist. The site owner is a bloke.

A popular clothes retailer using sexy images of young women - many of them company staff -goes too far, say Australian killjoys.

Liz, described as an American Apparel Melbourne retail employee, lies on her back on a rumpled bed, wearing a red leotard. With her come-hither looks, arched back and, in another photograph, an exposed breast, Liz assumes various sexy poses in pictures posted on the multinational retailer's website.

American Apparel manufactures colourful clothing — mainly cotton basics such as T-shirts, singlets and socks.

It goes without saying that most of the images of women on that website are overtly sexualised and some of them you would have to call pornographic. It's another example of the normalisation of pornography in popular culture, said Katrina George, a spokeswoman for Women's Forum Australia. Male models on the website, she points out, are not bending over or opening their legs in the name of selling socks.

Ms George said that young staff might feel pressured to appear in the company's advertising campaigns: If that particular culture exists in that workplace, then you have to wonder if there are pressures on the staff to then participate in that kind of really highly sexualised modelling. But a company spokeswoman said staff and fans volunteered for the modelling work. We also sometimes scout them, she said.

The company is renowned for using staff in its advertising campaigns, which are often shot by its controversial Los Angeles-based founder, Dov Charney. Prospective sales staff, who are asked to submit up to three photographs of themselves as part of the job application process, appear to be chosen for their looks.

Professor Clive Hamilton, the former chief of the Australia Institute, which issued a 2006 report on the uses of sexualised images of children in advertising, called on the Advertising Standards Bureau to have a close look at the American Apparel advertisements. It was a clear example of why Australia needed tougher advertising standards, he said.

At the same time, Charney has been applauded for his anti-sweatshop policy. He pays workers in his Los Angeles factory well above minimum wages and staff are entitled to subsidised health insurance, free English lessons, free parking and subsidised meals.

The head of Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Dr Helen Szoke, said she was concerned about American Apparel's strategy of asking prospective sales staff to submit several photographs of themselves when they applied for a job, but conceded it was not illegal: But we would be really concerned if they were going to be used to exclude people simply on the basis of physical appearance.

A controversial skit on dying children will be edited out of an episode of the Australian TV show, The Chaser's War on Everything.

The skit about the Make a Realistic Wish Foundation, which aired last night on the ABC TV show, ended with actor Chris Taylor saying there was no point in making expensive wishes come true as they're going to die anyway.

It was a take-off of the Make-a-Wish Foundation and has prompted some complaints from 'angry' viewers.

In a statement released this morning, ABC TV director Kim Dalton and Chaser executive producer Julian Morrow said the skit would be removed from a repeat episode of the show to screen on ABC2, as well as online.

They said the skit was not intended to hurt those who had been affected by the terminal illness of a child: We acknowledge the distress this segment has caused and we apologise to anyone we have upset.

Make-a-Wish Foundation chief executive Sandy Brattstrom said the skit misrepresented the motives of children and families who applied for wishes. The implication in the skit that sick children were materialistic and requested unrealistic wishes was offensive to those who have applied or intend to apply for wishes.

Update: Chased Off Air

6th June 2009. Based on article from news.com.au

The Chaser's War On Everything has been sin-binned by the ABC and removed from air for two weeks following the controversy surrounding its comedy skit about dying children.

ABC managing director Mark Scott made the decision in the supposed wake of the community backlash from the sketch, Making A Realistic Wish Foundation, which aired on Wednesday night.

We have decided that this is the most appropriate course of action, Scott said: It gives the ABC an opportunity to complete a review of editorial approval processes. It also gives The Chaser a chance to regroup and review their material. In making the wrong judgment call we have let down our audience and the wider community.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Chaser comedian Chris Taylor has received a number of death threats since the skit aired.

Update: Chased Off Air

9th June 2009. Based on article from abc.net.au

An man is planning to protest outside an ABC building if the decision to ban The Chaser's War on Everything is not reversed.

Last night Keiran Adair started the Facebook group Don't Censor The Chasers War On Everything! and he already has 256 members - the number increasing every minute.

Adair says the ABC's move to censor the material sets a dangerous precedent: Obviously there were people who were offended by the skit and that's their right and I'm not saying that they shouldn't be. But I'm saying that censorship should never be used in response to that. There's the threat that if they can pull even one episode due to a group being offended by it, then they will be forced to pull more episodes in the future because other groups are offended.

In his Facebook group, Mr Adair urges members to take action by lodging a complaint with the ABC, sending fan mail to the Chaser and joining the protest.

A controversial skit on dying children will be edited out of an episode of the Australian TV show, The Chaser's War on Everything.

The skit about the Make a Realistic Wish Foundation, which aired last night on the ABC TV show, ended with actor Chris Taylor saying there was no point in making expensive wishes come true as they're going to die anyway.

It was a take-off of the Make-a-Wish Foundation and has prompted some complaints from 'angry' viewers.

In a statement released this morning, ABC TV director Kim Dalton and Chaser executive producer Julian Morrow said the skit would be removed from a repeat episode of the show to screen on ABC2, as well as online.

They said the skit was not intended to hurt those who had been affected by the terminal illness of a child: We acknowledge the distress this segment has caused and we apologise to anyone we have upset.

Make-a-Wish Foundation chief executive Sandy Brattstrom said the skit misrepresented the motives of children and families who applied for wishes. The implication in the skit that sick children were materialistic and requested unrealistic wishes was offensive to those who have applied or intend to apply for wishes.

Update: Chased Off Air

6th June 2009. Based on article from news.com.au

The Chaser's War On Everything has been sin-binned by the ABC and removed from air for two weeks following the controversy surrounding its comedy skit about dying children.

ABC managing director Mark Scott made the decision in the supposed wake of the community backlash from the sketch, Making A Realistic Wish Foundation, which aired on Wednesday night.

We have decided that this is the most appropriate course of action, Scott said: It gives the ABC an opportunity to complete a review of editorial approval processes. It also gives The Chaser a chance to regroup and review their material. In making the wrong judgment call we have let down our audience and the wider community.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Chaser comedian Chris Taylor has received a number of death threats since the skit aired.

Ok Ok, You can  watch porn if you want to

After being as indecisive as a teenage girl choosing what to wear on prom night, Senator Conroy has settled on what classification category will be banned by under the mandatory filter (the one you can’t opt out of). According to IT News, Conroy’s office stated that mandatory ISP-level filtering will only apply to RC [banned: Refused Classification] content drawn from complaints made to the ACMA.

In particular this means that adult consensual hardcore porn [rated X18+] will be available to Australian adults who opt out of the family filter.