The Federal Government seems neither well-informed nor realistic on questions of regulating the internet, judging by a joint statement on the matter put out by Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston and Attorney-General Daryl Williams this week. They said they “”will encourage the on-line service provider industry to develop codes of practice in relation to on-line content in consultation with the Australian Broadcasting Authority”.
They talked of a regulatory regime to stop things like bomb-making instructions and pornography being available on the internet, saying this was consistent with election promises and ABA recommendations. They acknowledged “”that on-line service providers were often not in a position to be aware of all material transmitted through their service, and cannot be held responsible in every case for material they have not created.”
This statement indicates only a glimmer of understanding about how the internet works. It indicates more strongly that the two politicians want to be seen to be doing something about a widespread, but hopelessly exaggerated, concern about internet nasties.
The ministers confuse internet “”service providers” and internet “”content providers”. Content providers have computer servers containing computer files with text, graphics sound and/or video on them which people access through their service provider. Service providers give home and business users access to the internet using phone lines, modems and an array of connectors that link up the computer servers of the content providers.
Service providers are never in a position to be aware of the material that goes through their computer boxes. To them it is a series of 1s and 0s. Service providers cannot be made the focus of any attempt to regulate the internet; it would be like holding Telstra responsible for everything said on the telephone wires.
The focus must be on the content providers and end-users. The trouble is that only a few content providers are located in Australia and there is little to stop an Australian user accessing pornography and terrorism guides from overseas servers. And once accessed in the privacy of a home, it is hard to enforce any law against possession.
In short, legislation can only be a small part of the solution. Perhaps there is a case for better evidence rules about computer-generated material.
But all-embracing legislation providing penalties and liability on internet service providers for things they have not control over may act as a deterrent against expansion of the internet in Australia, which would not be in the national interest.
The federal and state governments dealing with this issue should understand that the internet has a huge educational and economic potential for Australia. The question of pornography and bombs on the net should be put into perspective as an issue of very minor import — in inverse proportion to the amount of hysteria it has generated.
People fear what they do not understand. Much of the solution must come from parental control, which means parents must become involved with what their children are doing. This and software that blocks hot sites are likely to be more effective than legislation that may make lawmakers feel good.