my connected community (mc2)

Content Regulation

The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999 became effective on January 1, 2000. In accordance with amended Australian Government legislation, Vicnet is now obliged to notify users within Australia about issues relating to Internet content. See Vicnet's Content Regulation & Filtering page, for full details.

Any Australian may complain to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about illegal or offensive Internet content at the ACMA's website. The ACMA investigates complaints to assess whether the content is 'prohibited' as defined in Schedule 5 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Regarding defamation allegations, Vicnet will take down content on the basis that it may contain material allegations which may be actionable and inappropriate, in accordance with our obligations under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, schedule 5.

Child Pornography

Note that whilst Internet Content Hosts (ICHs) (such as Vicnet) are not required to actively review, monitor or classify the content hosted on their service, they have an obligation to report material they have reasonable grounds to believe is child pornography or child abuse material to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) - see Attorney-General's Department.

Users of Internet Explorer can change various basic browser settings to control what Web content is displayed, in an attempt to protect children from accessing adult content. Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options then Content &/or Security. For more comprehensive solutions, however, you will need to purchase and install some form of content filtering software.

Filtering Content

Web content filtering software can "block" access to known pornographic Web sites and other objectionable content (such as racist and profane Web sites). Some filtering software will also block access to other online resources, such as Web-based chat forums and certain newsgroups, and prevent file downloads. Note, however, that no product is perfect - some sites will be unintentionally blocked, whilst some slip through that shouldn't. Filtering Software is no substitute for education, personal judgement and parental supervision. To ensure safe-surfing, you should also instal, run and frequently update a virus checking program on your computer.

There are various ways to attempt to filter out adult content on the Web. However, this raises some issues:

Who decides what you see and what you don't?
Can a filter really make the Internet experience "safe" for kids?
Does it give you a false sense of security?
Do you know or control what sites are "blocked"?
Can any software adequately replace parental guidance or supervision?

See: Content Regulation & Safe Surfing Software in the mc² Links Section
for filtering software and content regulation websites

See also:

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