Australian ISPs Required To Report Child Porn

rolling_or_jaded writes "As of the 1st of March 2005, Australian ISPs and web hosts will face fines of up to $55,000 if they can be used to access child pornography and do not refer the information to the police. Yikes. How on earth are the ISPs (and web hosts -- like my own very small-time and humble company) supposed to enforce this?"

With vaporware

[surefooted1]

How on earth are the ISPs (and web hosts -- like my own very small-time and humble company) supposed to enforce this?
With vaporware!

it's simple

[Fo0eY]

just enable the evil bit of course

New jobs?

[wannabgeek]

Does it mean they're going to hire people to go through all porn and judge which is legal?! Where can I send my resume?!?!

Simple solution

[Jesus 2.0]

"As of the 1st of March 2005, Australian ISPs and web hosts will face fines of up to $55,000 if they can be used to access child pornography and do not refer the information to the police. Yikes. How on earth are the ISPs (and web hosts -- like my own very small-time and humble company) supposed to enforce this?"

Easy:

Dear Police,

My ISP can be used to access child pornography.

Thanks,

Every ISP on Earth

Simple!

[Digital Dharma]

Just bundle Weathercast with the ISP software and let Windows do the rest!

simple solution for an ISP...

[TheSHAD0W]

Set up a non-transparent firewall requiring everyone to use a web proxy to access the internet at large. Then, whenever someone accesses a file ending in .gif, .jpg, .bmp or .png using their browser, forward a copy of that file to the police along with a note stating that it may be an example of child pornography and asking them to investigate further. That should put you in complete compliance with the law.

Child Abuse

[Haxx]

It will also be a federal offence, carrying a penalty of 10 years' jail, for a person to use the internet to access, transmit or make available child pornography or child abuse material.

Does this mean you could do 10 years for googling effective ways to spank a child?

Re:simple solution for an ISP...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hello??? ASCII art????

I fail to see

[teamhasnoi]

why the police are *not* being fined thousands for failing to prevent child porn in the first place. Or automakers, computer and camera manufacturers, hotels, schools, parents, politicians, and Ayers Rock for not child porn proofing their products, and not doing all they can to prevent it.

Computer, camera and auto manufacturers should stop making these items which can be used in the creation and distribution of child porn, hotels house child porn makers and provide a haven for them, schools don't keep the children 24 hours a day, making the children available to pornographers, parents had the children in the first place, obviously leading to child porn, politicans consume most of the child porn, and Ayers Rock hasn't gone and fallen on the pornographers.

It seems rather clear to me that this still has not been taken to extent it needs to be to prevent all child porn. Why aren't lawmakers doing their jobs?

And when is someone going to go after the children? They obviously have something to do with it - they're in all of it. Geez, do I have to fix your big fence too? Get some priorities! Go after the problem, not the symptoms!

Re:Child Abuse

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean you could do 10 years for googling effective ways to spank a child?

Sorry, that's patented:
Method of disciplining a child by sharp, repeated slaps to the posterior.

Of course, Amazon already has a one-slap patent, while Microsoft has one that allows strangers to appear off the street and randomly spank your child whenever they feel like it, though they're working on a fix for that.

Re:Age of Porno-Consent?

[Lehk228]

age of consent != age for pronography

Re:Periodic Hysterias

[geminidomino]

Dear Men-In-Black,

Slashdot.org has been allowing its users to discuss child pornography.

Think of the children.

Sincerely,
Senator J. McCarthy IV

Re:New jobs?

[Burning1]

Send it to [e-mail]

Re:it's simple

[sllim]

You got it backwards.
You DISABLE the evil bit. Enableing the evil bit allows people acess to things like child porn and naked pictures of Oprah Winfrey and the like.

shouldnt they block it if they know its 'banned'?

[cheekyboy]

If they know someone can 'access' illegal material, surely it would be just as easy to prevent access and 'firewall' out the bad stuff?

re hosting, yeah thats an easy one to catch.

Why doesnt Autralia as a whole have a firewall like China and make those 'dodgy' sites disappear to all.

Re:PLEASE UPDATE THE STORY

[Anonymous Coward]

Slandering the Australian Government is a tradition in Australia too, and for bloody good reasons.

Re:With vaporware

[poptones]

As an asside, they are planning to ban parents from taking photos during school swimming carnivals soon here in Australia for fear of pedophiles taking photographs.

Thanks for giving us Americans one more reminder that there are indeed other countries even more fucked up than us.

Re:Don't demonise them

[Ligur]

Look at what defines child porn.

US: Sexual acts depicted on women under the age of 18
UK: Sexual acts depicted on women under the age of 16

So... If I paint a pornographic picture on my 17yo girlfriends belly, that's childporn?
*ducks*

Re:This is SAD

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets just start with the fact that since there is no way to show the thoughts a person has in there head you have no possible proof of guilt, so it's eigther a non starter or a convienient way to incarcerate someone on a whim.

To consider the possibility that the Thought Police might be unright is thinkcrime. Your posts are double-plus-ungood, comrade. Report to MiniLuv for counselling.

How are small-time ISPs supposed to enforce this?

[Anita Coney]

You're not. You're supposed to go out of business leaving more room for the large ISPs. That's the point of laws like this. Screw the little guy, which is ironic if you think about it!

Typical Conversation at ISP...

[RexRhino]

A: "This person seems to be downloading gigs of stuff! He MUST be downloading child porn or illegal movies"

B: "Um sir, it looks like he is just downloading Linux ISOs"

A: "Linux what? Look, we can't take a chance and get fined. Report him, and let the police worry about it."

Can't access website

[Anonymous Coward]

www.hotkids.com.au seems to be down! Anyway else having trouble connecting?

Re:Don't demonise them

[sgant]

you're right...but I tend to demonize everyone anyway, regardless of guilt. But I'm an asshole, your milage may vary.

Like it should be..

[t_allardyce]

Yes because child porn is the ISPs faults and they are basically responsible for it at every level. Infact they are often behind making it in the first place! This isn't exactly hard to enforce - you just scan all user traffic and check for child porn images with that magic AI system that has a 0% failure rate!

Re:Don't demonise them

[JCCyC]

I hope that you will at least wait until they are convicted.

Rule of law? That's for liberal terrorist-lovin', latte-drinking pedophile defenders. Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out. You're either with us or against us.</sarcasm>

Are you sure?

[Anonymous Coward]

The law is fucked [...]

How old is that law? If it's under 18 (or 16, or whatever), it's probably illegal for it to be fucked. If you have any information about that law being fucked, you must report it, citizen.

P.S. - If it turns out that an "underage" law actually wanted to and enjoyed being fucked, then it must be put into therapy until it acknowledges its deep emotional scars and overdoses on anti-depressants.