The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy want you to change your password.
Checkout http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ for more info or watch the video below.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) yesterday demanded Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) remove a link to an abortion website from their blog, stating it would fine them $11,000 per day if not removed.
The document, issued by the ACMA to EFA’s hosting provider yesterday, explained that it was a final link-deletion notice, and if they did not comply by 6PM next business day their hosting provider, Sublime IP, would be fined $11,000 per day.
Speaking with Mark Newton, an IT expert, Tech Wired understands that a final-link deletion notice must be sent to the Classification Board for it to be “final”.
The decision from the Classification Board, available online, overruled the ACMA’s initial decision of the content being “refused classification”. The Classification Board instead deemed the content as being R18+ of which is also “prohibited content” and in turn blocked.
As seen in March of this year, Whirlpool, a Broadband discussion forum, received an interim link-deletion notice from the ACMA.
It is understood by Tech Wired that Whirlpool’s hosting provider, Bullet Proof Networks, received a final link-deletion notice last week.
Colin Jacobs, a representative for the EFA outlined in a blog post that this should alarm Australians.
“…the link was part of a political discussion about the merits of the existing and future Internet censorship policies,” he wrote.
“Nevertheless, we were forced to remove the link on pain of severe penalties.” he added.
Tech Wired was reminded of what Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy said at the ALIA Online conference on January 20th.
“…there has never been any suggestion that the Australian Government would seek to block political content.”
This decision by the Classification Board is sure to spark another chapter in the debate of whether blocking political content through ISP-level filtering is right or wrong.
As pointed out by The Age, the Department for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) will soon begin scouring the web for mentions of their department.
A tender for what they are seeking can be found on Aus Tender, a website used by the Australian Government for available business opportunities.
The tender put forward by the DBCDE states that they are:
“…seeking to obtain a comprehensive digital monitoring service for print and electronic media across all of the Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy portfolio.”
In clarifying what ‘electronic media’ was, the DBCDE outlined in an addendum:
“The term electronic media refers to online media. Key websites include (but are not limited to): all Australian newspaper sites, ABC Asia Pacific News, ABC News Online, ARNet, ITnews Australia, news.com.au, ninemsn news, ZDNet Australia, Nine MSN, ABC Online and blogs such as whirlpool etc.”
It’s seen as an interesting move by the department, and as pointed out by The Age, somewhat contradictory. Contradictory because the Senator for the department, Stephen Conroy, voiced his views in Germany not that long ago that it was a “really positive sign” that the Singaporean Government had given up on monitoring Blogs.
The whole tender idea reminded me of the ABC Hollowmen program.
Here’s an extract from the Hollowmen site:
The Hollowmen is a comedy-drama set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a special think tank personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him in the most important job of all – getting re-elected.
Their brief is “long term vision”; to stop worrying about tomorrow’s headlines, and focus on next week’s.
The tender process closes on the 30th of March, just before the Australian Government budget is due.
In just over a weeks time Tech Wired will be attending Australia’s largest telecommunications conference, CommsDay.
The conference is held once every year as a gathering for the major players involved in Australia’s telecommunications industry. From Senator Stephen Conroy representing the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy, to various Internet Service Provider representatives; the conference will discuss topics such as the National Broadband Network and emerging wireless technologies.
Optus, Internode, Pipe, Vocus, Australia Japan Cable, Basslink, Telarus, BigAir, Kordia, Unwired and others will be among those presenting.
We’re seeking you to leave a comment below as to what questions you would like answered by the big players.
Live coverage of CommsDay 2009 will be provided by Tech Wired throughout the day, so stay tuned.
The Department for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has refused Tech Wired access to documents containing information regarding the National Broadband Network.
Received just yesterday was a 17-page document containing several reasons as to why the Government will not release The Panel of Experts’ Report detailing suggestions for a winning NBN tender.
You can download the 17-page report here.
Nikki Vajrabukka, Acting Assistant Secretary told Tech Wired:
“I decide that the Report is wholly exempt under section 34 and section 36 of the FOI Act and therefore it is not to be released”.
Section 34 details the release of Cabinet documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The images below shows why a Cabinet document can not be released:
Since when did the Experts’ Panel Report become a cabinet document? According to the 17-page report, it refers to letters sent out to the panel members which suggest they:
“…provide its recommendations to the Government”
The report also states a press release from Senator Conroy saying:
“…the Government is now considering the Panel of Experts’ Report”
Nikki Vajrabukka decided that “the Government” should be taken to mean “the Cabinet” and therefore a refusal to the report.
As to section 36? As the report is an internal working document described below in the image, it is also refused release.
You may note that release is granted if the document is in the public’s interest, but of course the Department denied that on the grounds that:
“…the factors against disclosure of the Report outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure of the Report. That is, disclosure would in my view be contrary to the public interest. Having regard to the contents of the Report, I have decided the Report is wholly exempt under subsection 36(1).”
It’s clear as to why the government don’t want anyone knowing what’s in the report. With journalists speculating left, right and centre, why not take an evidence based approach I thought? Though, it seems I was left with a dead parrot.
So what did we learn?
Tech Wired learned that:
“The Minister [Senator Conroy] will make the final decision on the outcomes of the RFP process following consultation with Cabinet and Cabinet agreement to any proposed legislative changes”
We also learned that the ACCC’s separate advice will be attached to the Panel of Experts’ Report as part of the NBN process and consultation with Cabinet.
As to what remains unknown is the day Senator Conroy will announce the winning tenderer, will it be CommsDay? With Kevin Rudd out of town, many say not, but if that’s the case it’ll be past Conroy’s time (stated in Hansard) of:
“By March”.
Steve Dalby, iiNet's Chief Regulatory Officer
After talks with iiNet’s Chief Regulatory Officer, Steve Dalby, iiNet has agreed to cover the costs for Tech Wired Australia to continue to pursue the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) under the Freedom of Information Act for documents it wont release before tendering, relating to the Nation’s National 4.7 billion dollar Broadband Network.
