Great article in NewMatilda.com today about the government’s plans for a compulsory “clean” Internet feed.

The talk from Stephen Conroy’s office has been high on rhetoric and low on detail, seeking to equate those who would prefer an unfiltered internet with seekers of child pornography. This is not only patently ridiculous, it is a slur – and it is a political Trojan horse.

Child pornography is of course a problem, and nobody is defending it. Any child pornography on the internet or resident on file-sharing programs should be traced to its providers and consumers, and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Who could say otherwise? However, laws exist for precisely this purpose. If the legislation or the enforcement is found to be inadequate, it should be strengthened.

But child pornography is of course not the real issue.

Australians might have been misled by the Government’s initial announcement that it was possible to “opt out” of the filtering. According to industry insiders, users can choose to opt-out of the filter which blocks content deemed unsuitable for children, but there is in fact no opt-out for content that is deemed “illegal”.

If you think that the government has no place in filtering this country’s entire Internet feed you should head over to No Clean Feed and take some action.