The Federal Government has announced it has abandoned plans for the ever unpopular internet filter, with Minister for Communications, Broadband the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announcing the Government will instead use pre-existing legislation to block child abuse websites identified by Interpol.

 

Senator Conroy said the existing framework will block over 90 per cent of such illicit content.

 

"Given this successful outcome, the government has no need to proceed with mandatory filtering legislation," Senator Conroy said.

 

The announcement comes five years after Senator Conroy first floated the idea of a mandatory clean feed service, which provided instantly unpopular with user groups, internet service providers and activists alike.

 

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has resumed its campaign to convince the Government to resume mandatory filtering, saying that placing the onus on ISP’s to block content is insufficient in blocking illicit content.

 

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said that while it was positive the government was enforcing the obligation of ISPs under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to block illegal child abuse websites on the INTERPOL list, this did not obviate the need for more widespread filtering of other harmful online content.

 

“Although child abuse material is the most heinous element of the Refused Classification category, it is just a part of the prohibited online content the government committed to blocking at the ISP level prior to the last election,” Mr Wallace said.