Government’s net filter ‘may stifle HIV prevention’

Government’s net filter ‘may stifle HIV prevention’

A peak Australian HIV organisation has raised concerns the federal Government’s proposed mandatory internet filter may hamper HIV prevention efforts.

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) put forward a submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy’s internet filter consultation paper, saying obstructing sites which state HIV organisations target for safe-sex messages could be a mistake.

AFAO policy manager Abigail Groves told Sydney Star Observer there is concern some sites, such as those depicting gay sex or BDSM, may be targeted unfairly.

“We’re concerned things like that might get caught up, particularly as the process being proposed seems to rely largely on complaints,” she said.

“The homophobic people are probably more likely to complain.”

While it’s unknown which sites will make the final cut, state-based AIDS Councils have also expressed concerns.

“I think if our concerns aren’t respected, then ultimately that could have negative effects for some of the health promotion work we do and those issues will be raised in our submission.”

Groves said AFAO is pushing for the Refused Classification category — used to determine the filter ‘blacklist’ — to only apply to material which is illegal to possess, such as child pornography.

“We support a chance to block child pornography. Our concern though is, in attempting to address overtly criminal stuff like child pornography, is it going to be workable and what will its effect be on other things, like representations of gay sex or any other sort of explicit sexual representation?”

AFAO claim in their submission that research shows information, chat and pornographic sites play an important role in providing men-who-have-sex-with-men information about sexuality and sexual health.

info: Visit www.hivtoptips.org.au

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One response to “Government’s net filter ‘may stifle HIV prevention’”

  1. Senator Conroy is trying to impose his own filthy Catholic Morality over everyone. Even many good Catholics cannot stand them. Gay Marriage sites will not be allowed as they are illegal under his laws. They can be filtered out if the Australian Christian Lobby Complains.

    Catholic mafia Rudd and Conroy are the darlings of the Australian Christian Lobby for doing this.

    I am fucking fed up of the Catholic Mafia imposing there own fucking morality on me. It was the NAZI Pope that covered up child sexual abuse and allowed Priest under him to knowingly abuse children. I guess he must of been guided by the Holy Spirit to let children get fucked. It was the Pope who loved Hitler. It was the Pope who did not apologise for the 15,000 members of our own community who Hitler killed. The Pope only apologised to people who are Jewish. Last time I checked it was the Catholic Church in Germany that allowed the first SS meeting to be conducted in it, gave our names and addresses to the Hitler Youth, so we could be tortured up the arse with lumps of wood until we died or were thrown into camps.

    Rudd and Conroy have no right imposing there Catholic Evil on us. People will die if they do not have access to treatment. What a bloody disgrace both these people are, and they complain we are not normal!