The Australian political party The Greens will act to block the Labor Governments proposed internet filter. The filter has been criticized widely for making the possibility of cheap broadband and fast broadband in Australia far less likely.

Western Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam told an audience at the Gold Coast Kickstart forum that he believes the internet filter is a risky move, and will probably be scrapped in the lead up to the next federal election.

The internet filter has drawn a large amount of controversy since its inception. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy brought the filter about as a way of tackling child pornography and other internet crime. However, there are a number of issues that have lead the filter to be questioned by the public sector as well as industry spokesmen.

One of the problems with the proposed filter is that it will significantly lower the speed of the internet for Australians. While fast broadband was one of the Governments election promises, and it is spending over forty billion dollars on the creation of a national broadband network, the filter is reported to lower speeds by thirty percent. This will significantly reduce the amount of Australians with fast broadband access.

Another issue is the cost of the filter, and that it will mean less Australians have cheap broadband access. This is one of the major reasons leaders of differing ISPs have condemned the filter, as their costs will naturally have to rise, and the number of cheap broadband deals they are able to offer will be reduced.

Beyond just having fast broadband and cheap broadband, the overall effectiveness of the filter has been called into question. It’s still likely that hackers will be able to access websites that have been blocked through the use of proxies, and there’s nothing to stop new websites being created that are not yet on the Government’s blacklist.

Also cause for concern is the fact that the Government is looking to keep its blacklist a secret from the public. This will mean that if, for example, a website criticizes the Government for its lack of cheap broadband or fast broadband access, the Government will theoretically be able to block this website, and keep the fact of this censorship a secret.

Those who want fast broadband and cheap broadband have targeted Stephen Conroy as public enemy number one. Many websites with titles like “Stephen Conroy: Minister for Fascism” have popped up around the internet, and comparisons have been made to China which, despite having fast broadband, significantly censors the content its citizens are allowed to see.
With the damage the proposed filter will do to people’s hopes for cheap, fast broadband, it’s no wonder it has received such strong criticism from so many people. A number of protests have been planned to try and stop the measure, and plenty of anti-censorship Facebook groups are currently up and available to join. Despite the Government’s actions, those who want cheap broadband to remain a possibility for Australians are making their voices heard.