The filtering debate is hotting up with the announcement that the Federal Government will provide every Australian family with a free Internet filter. (more…) As part of this same package, the National Library of Australia is required to install filtering on all their public PCs, with the option of disabling the filter for adult users.
These same filters are also on offer to all Australian libraries. At present, the only state that has filtering on public libraries across the state is Tasmania and this is only a recent innovation. Otherwise, across Australia, only a few libraries have instituted filtering - some of those only on PCs located in the children’s area of the library. As public libraries in general, supported by ALIA, are anti-filtering, partly because of the limitations and loopholes of current filtering software, it will be interesting to see what the government will do to get all libraries to install filtering on all public PCs.
Filtering public PCs
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July 18, 2006 at 19:44
I just wonder what the government thinks this will really achieve. Filters don’t work well and are just as likely to block out legitimate sites (eg on breast cancer), and children are very good at working out ways of bypassing software, anyway. If the idea is to stop paedophiles from preying on children, I don’t think any websites they are likely to create to lure children in are going to be blocked by filters - and if paedophiles are posing as children in chat sites this is not going to catch them, either. Education of children - and their parents - is more important, I think. This is a waste of money, in my opinion.
I don’t know what the federal government can do to force the issue - I hope state governments don’t succumb to the populist vote.
July 19, 2006 at 05:47
I agree. We know from experiences in the US that filters aren’t perfect. A non-librarian friend expressed the fear that we all share - when parents know filters are in use, they think they no longer have to supervise, that the filter will do their job. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth and it is a real concern when people say that filters are the answer.