(Press Release)
The Government will introduce stronger measures to protect Australian citizens, especially children, against illegal or highly offensive material on the internet. The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) will administer this regime. For content hosted in Australia, the ABA must seek a National Classification Board opinion or classification if the content is likely to be classified in certain ways. The Board is responsible for classifying films and videos, computer games and publications. The regime also provides for self-regulatory codes of practice for the online service provider industry, to be overseen by the ABA. These codes of practice must include a commitment by an online service provider to take all reasonable steps to block access to RC or X material hosted overseas, once the service provider has been notified of the existence of the material by the ABA. See also Electronic Frontiers Australia and CSIRO report on content blocking 19 March 1999
QuickLinks Index