Australian IT
November 11, 2008
The federal Government has released details of its long-awaited call for expressions of interest on live internet-service-provider content filtering trials.
The Government is asking all ISPs to participate, as their feedback is important.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Child protection group Child Wise welcomed the news, but a technical group has dubbed the venture a risky business for ISPs.
BigPond, the nation’s largest internet service provider, is reviewing the call’s terms and conditions before making a decision.
The Government, through the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has completed closed lab trials of ISP content filtering conducted by Enex TestLab. The live trial, however, is the first step towards evaluating whether ISP-level content filtering is feasible in Australia.
“The participation of industry is crucial to providing evidence on the real-world impacts for ISP content filtering, including on ISPs and their customers,” the government document, released yesterday, says.
ISPs have until December 8 to submit their applications.
The intention of the live pilot – also managed by Enex TestLab – is to assess the impact of ISP content filtering on fixed and mobile internet access devices.
The live pilot is scheduled to begin before the end of the year, but ISPs will be able to start later, preferably before Christmas eve.
“Ideally, ISPs will participate in the pilot for a minimum of six weeks,” the document says.
“ISPs that commence earlier will have the discretion to participate in the pilot until its conclusion.”
The Government plans to have two streams of filtered content.
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