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Australian Govt Eyes Criminal Penalties For Illegal Internet Use
Canberra - Aug 22, 2003 Using the internet in Australia for offensive and menacing purposes, including harassment and the advocacy of violence, will be outlawed as part of a crackdown on e-crime, the Australia minister for communications said Wednesday. The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, and the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison, said the Australian Government will soon introduce into Parliament amendments to make the use of a telecommunications service to carry offensive Internet content a criminal offence. It is currently an offence to use a telecommunications service in a way that would be considered by reasonable persons as offensive, or with the result that another person is menaced or harassed. However, the use of a telecommunications service to carry offensive Internet content is not covered by existing provisions. The new offence will carry a penalty of two years imprisonment, double the punishment for the existing offence. People using the Internet to advocate or facilitate violent protests, for example by spreading information on methods of violently disrupting international meetings and attacking police officers protecting such gatherings, including those using the Internet to harass or menace others are amongst those who could be prosecuted under the new offences. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet content hosts will be exempted from the new offence where they do not have knowledge of the content of the material that they transmit or host. A person who places material on the Internet that urges the commission of a criminal offence may also be caught by State and Territory offences for incitement to commit a criminal offence. The new offence will form part of a package of new telecommunications-related offences which includes offences for the possession and distribution of Internet child pornography, targeting those who use the Internet to trade in child pornography. The package will also include offences dealing with the "rebirthing" of stolen mobile phones which is a practice that allows criminals to circumvent technology that prevents stolen mobiles from accessing Australian mobile networks. The Commonwealth Government already regulates Internet content through the Online Content Co-Regulatory Scheme. The new offence will complement this scheme by introducing criminal penalties for placing material on the Internet that would be regarded by reasonable persons as being, in all the circumstances, offensive. Under this scheme the Australian Broadcasting Authority acts on complaints from the public and can order Internet content hosts in Australia not to host prohibited content. Prohibited content is material that has been or would be Refused Classification or classified 'X'. Content hosted in Australia that is or would be classified 'R' is also prohibited if the offending material is not subject to adult verification restrictions. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues
Analysis: China's Futile Web Clampdown
Beijing (UPI) Sep 27, 2005An axiom of Communist China's founder Mao Zedong goes, "a single spark can start a prairie fire." Today, the country's leaders fear this is only an Internet click away. |
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