Two of the worlds largest online companies Google and Yahoo have stood up to join the campaign against the Australian Federal governments net filtering plans which once in effect will force all ISP’s to filter all web traffic in Australia and block content that has been rated RC (Refused Classification).

There are many groups that are speaking out about the planned move saying it is similar to censorship in China and once in place could be extended to filter out information regarding politics and other topics to threaten free speech.

Others also fear for the impacts on broadband performance claiming it could have a serious impact on broadband speed. The government claims it has run broadband speed tests with a test version of the filter and found no negative impacts but only time will tell.

Google and Yahoo along with other members speaking out claim the refused classification category is far too broad. For example, a website showing how to do grafitti may be blocked as it is classified as an illegal activity or a website on euthanasia might be blocked as not allowed in Australia.

Many internet actvists believe the web is a global forum for free speach and governments should keep there hands out of it.  Parents who want to keep their children off unsavory sites can easily block these and people who really want to access content which is banned will probably soon find ways to bypass the filters.