4 ms·

Australia looking to censor iPhone apps

12 points by whatusername 17y ago

the_real_r2d2 17y ago
It wouldn't surprise me. Lately the Australian Gov. has done crazy stuff related to Copy Rights Laws, "Net Security" and Net neutrality.
Specstacular 17y ago
Another stumbling block to innovation and engagement in Aussie Software development and 'new media' market. Typical!
JacobAldridge 17y ago
Welcome to Australia. Please set your clocks forward 19 hours, and your politics back 20 years.
- jstevens85 17y ago
  Because a member of the Classification Board sent a letter to a Government Minister?
  - JacobAldridge 17y ago
    It was a general comment about the current state of censorship at a federal level. This specific issue may be a fair question to ask, but within the web filter debate, lack of an R18+ rating for games, and an inconsistent censorship regime throughout the country, I feel the questions being asked are at least ten years too late.
    - jstevens85 17y ago
      I think the problems are overstated. There really isn't a web filter debate. It's really a bunch of people yelling at a rogue Labour minister who has too much power as leader of the right faction. There are very few people arguing in favour of the plan, and it looks like it will be impossible to pass through parliament. The lack of an R18+ rating is more a reflection of the problems with the constitution. The federal parliament is unable to make censorship laws that apply to the entire country, and we are therefore dependent upon all six states to agree. The situation now is that 5 states support an 18+ rating, one doesn't. The serious censorship problems are really that several films, such as Ken Park, have been banned even though there exists an 18+ rating for cinema. Also, the banning of one of Philip Nitschke's books is troubling.
      - JacobAldridge 17y ago
        I didn't realise the R18+ issue was state-related. Who's the hold out? I hope you're right about the web filter debate. I would have said the same thing about the GST, but then there's a big distinction between a PM's personal agenda and a "rogue Labor minister".
        jstevens85 17y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Film_and_Literature_Classification_(Australia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Film_and_Literature_C... "Currently only Michael Atkinson, South Australian Attorney-General opposes the R18 classification introduction and is also blocking the release of a public paper that canvasses the opinion of the Australian public on whether or not an R18 classification should be introduced." Don't really understand the opposition to the GST. It massively simplified the sales tax system in Australia. We're one of the lowest taxing countries in the developed world.
        JacobAldridge 17y ago
        Thanks. My GST comment wasn't a judgement on it, just a policy comparison. If you'd asked me in '98/'99 about whether Howard would get it through, my response would have been something along the lines of "it looks like it will be impossible to pass through parliament". Here's hoping that's where the comparison ends.
etherael 17y ago
This may be uncharacteristically abrasive and terse, but fuck this country. (yes, I live here, and want to leave)
- DanielBMarkham 17y ago
  I hope this post comes off okay. I've been visiting your country for a few weeks now on holiday, and I've found both here and NZ to be places with wonderful people and scenery. Having said that, both places seem to have a bit of the nanny-state complex. I can sympathize that it is frustrating -- but it's not all bad, by any means. We've had a wonderful time. I'm not sure I would chose to live here, however. I've traveled and lived in a bunch of places in the states, and the attitude seems a bit different here. I remember being in NZ last week and seeing the front page of one of their papers -- "New Zealand's Millionaires". It was three or four poor blokes mug-shotted on the front page, just like they had been caught robbing a liquor store or something. The message was clear: rich people have somehow cheated their way to the top. These guys are not to be emulated (except maybe as hoodlums) So that (and a few other things) makes me more of a visitor who would like to come back than somebody who would want to live here. I think there are a lot of people who are really laid back, and just a few who want to micro-manage everybody else. Unfortunately it only takes a few....
  - whatusername 17y ago
    We even have a name for it - Tall Poppy Syndrome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome I think it's slowly changing (certainly I haven't heard anything negative about Elizabeth Blackburn and Barry Marshall/Robin Warren -- Nobel Prizes for Med in 2009 and 2005)
    - etherael 17y ago
      I think the reason you haven't heard anything negative about them is because the vast majority of people here wouldn't know who they were or what they did. On the other hand, if I were to randomly pick a player in the lineup of a state or national football or cricket team, odds are the vast majority of the population here would be overjoyed with the idea of telling you how awesome they are and how much better the world is with them around. And yes, this is indeed part of the problem with this place.
wakeless 17y ago
All this is saying is that iphone apps should be on the same playing field as all other computer games sold in Australia. Which is fair enough. Now, I'm the first person to hate on Stephen Conroy and his ridiculously communist sensorship ideals, but this isn't really one of them.
- whatusername 17y ago
  Did you see the figures posted in the article In 2008-09 the classification board received 7,036 applications. That figure included applications for classifying 4,792 films, 1,095 computer games and 197 publications. What happens when you add 20,000 iPhone games to that. Plus updates - do they have to be re-censored? The principal is ok, but the implementation scares me. (Oh - and we need an 18+ rating for video games, but that's another story)
  - fungi 17y ago
    don't forget nanny.gov.au will have to protect the children from all those evil flash games as well.
  - wakeless 17y ago
    The principal of classification isn't that great, but it is in play and it is here to stay. So it does need to be fair. This just underlines the point about scalability issues that this is running into and the great wall of Conroy will also run into. We all know the Internet is way too big to control so why try?
- fungi 17y ago
  > communist sensorship ideals Puritanical catholic not commie, but once the system is in place that wont make a difference. VPN's for one and all! Pretty good deal for the yanks, they get to export freedom of speech for just $5 bucks a month.
- iuybuyvvyu 17y ago
  A problem in Oz is that there is no 18 cert for computer games. So anything that isn't 'watch with mother' is banned.
die_sekte 17y ago
"Australia: We're going backwards!" or "Australia: We want to control everything you see!"
gord 17y ago
A moments thought and they would have realized that Apple will do all the work for them. Huge waste of time, money, energy - and basically the things they dont want, wont be filtered out by this [ eg. uncategorized porn on jailbroken phones, if there is such a thing] Australia is a wonderful country, but we need a bit more clarity in such things as net neutrality, censorship and separation of church and state. [The latter is only hinted at in the constitution, and has been interpreted very weakly in court judgements.]

12 points by whatusername 17y ago

It wouldn't surprise me. Lately the Australian Gov. has done crazy stuff related to Copy Rights Laws, "Net Security" and Net neutrality.

Specstacular 17y ago

Another stumbling block to innovation and engagement in Aussie Software development and 'new media' market. Typical!

JacobAldridge 17y ago

Welcome to Australia. Please set your clocks forward 19 hours, and your politics back 20 years.

jstevens85 17y ago
Because a member of the Classification Board sent a letter to a Government Minister?
- JacobAldridge 17y ago
  It was a general comment about the current state of censorship at a federal level. This specific issue may be a fair question to ask, but within the web filter debate, lack of an R18+ rating for games, and an inconsistent censorship regime throughout the country, I feel the questions being asked are at least ten years too late.
  - jstevens85 17y ago
    I think the problems are overstated. There really isn't a web filter debate. It's really a bunch of people yelling at a rogue Labour minister who has too much power as leader of the right faction. There are very few people arguing in favour of the plan, and it looks like it will be impossible to pass through parliament. The lack of an R18+ rating is more a reflection of the problems with the constitution. The federal parliament is unable to make censorship laws that apply to the entire country, and we are therefore dependent upon all six states to agree. The situation now is that 5 states support an 18+ rating, one doesn't. The serious censorship problems are really that several films, such as Ken Park, have been banned even though there exists an 18+ rating for cinema. Also, the banning of one of Philip Nitschke's books is troubling.
    - JacobAldridge 17y ago
      I didn't realise the R18+ issue was state-related. Who's the hold out? I hope you're right about the web filter debate. I would have said the same thing about the GST, but then there's a big distinction between a PM's personal agenda and a "rogue Labor minister".
      - jstevens85 17y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Film_and_Literature_Classification_(Australia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Film_and_Literature_C... "Currently only Michael Atkinson, South Australian Attorney-General opposes the R18 classification introduction and is also blocking the release of a public paper that canvasses the opinion of the Australian public on whether or not an R18 classification should be introduced." Don't really understand the opposition to the GST. It massively simplified the sales tax system in Australia. We're one of the lowest taxing countries in the developed world.
        JacobAldridge 17y ago
        Thanks. My GST comment wasn't a judgement on it, just a policy comparison. If you'd asked me in '98/'99 about whether Howard would get it through, my response would have been something along the lines of "it looks like it will be impossible to pass through parliament". Here's hoping that's where the comparison ends.

etherael 17y ago

This may be uncharacteristically abrasive and terse, but fuck this country. (yes, I live here, and want to leave)

DanielBMarkham 17y ago
I hope this post comes off okay. I've been visiting your country for a few weeks now on holiday, and I've found both here and NZ to be places with wonderful people and scenery. Having said that, both places seem to have a bit of the nanny-state complex. I can sympathize that it is frustrating -- but it's not all bad, by any means. We've had a wonderful time. I'm not sure I would chose to live here, however. I've traveled and lived in a bunch of places in the states, and the attitude seems a bit different here. I remember being in NZ last week and seeing the front page of one of their papers -- "New Zealand's Millionaires". It was three or four poor blokes mug-shotted on the front page, just like they had been caught robbing a liquor store or something. The message was clear: rich people have somehow cheated their way to the top. These guys are not to be emulated (except maybe as hoodlums) So that (and a few other things) makes me more of a visitor who would like to come back than somebody who would want to live here. I think there are a lot of people who are really laid back, and just a few who want to micro-manage everybody else. Unfortunately it only takes a few....
- whatusername 17y ago
  We even have a name for it - Tall Poppy Syndrome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome I think it's slowly changing (certainly I haven't heard anything negative about Elizabeth Blackburn and Barry Marshall/Robin Warren -- Nobel Prizes for Med in 2009 and 2005)
  - etherael 17y ago
    I think the reason you haven't heard anything negative about them is because the vast majority of people here wouldn't know who they were or what they did. On the other hand, if I were to randomly pick a player in the lineup of a state or national football or cricket team, odds are the vast majority of the population here would be overjoyed with the idea of telling you how awesome they are and how much better the world is with them around. And yes, this is indeed part of the problem with this place.

wakeless 17y ago

All this is saying is that iphone apps should be on the same playing field as all other computer games sold in Australia. Which is fair enough. Now, I'm the first person to hate on Stephen Conroy and his ridiculously communist sensorship ideals, but this isn't really one of them.

whatusername 17y ago
Did you see the figures posted in the article In 2008-09 the classification board received 7,036 applications. That figure included applications for classifying 4,792 films, 1,095 computer games and 197 publications. What happens when you add 20,000 iPhone games to that. Plus updates - do they have to be re-censored? The principal is ok, but the implementation scares me. (Oh - and we need an 18+ rating for video games, but that's another story)
- fungi 17y ago
  don't forget nanny.gov.au will have to protect the children from all those evil flash games as well.
- wakeless 17y ago
  The principal of classification isn't that great, but it is in play and it is here to stay. So it does need to be fair. This just underlines the point about scalability issues that this is running into and the great wall of Conroy will also run into. We all know the Internet is way too big to control so why try?
fungi 17y ago
> communist sensorship ideals Puritanical catholic not commie, but once the system is in place that wont make a difference. VPN's for one and all! Pretty good deal for the yanks, they get to export freedom of speech for just $5 bucks a month.
iuybuyvvyu 17y ago
A problem in Oz is that there is no 18 cert for computer games. So anything that isn't 'watch with mother' is banned.

die_sekte 17y ago

"Australia: We're going backwards!" or "Australia: We want to control everything you see!"

gord 17y ago

A moments thought and they would have realized that Apple will do all the work for them. Huge waste of time, money, energy - and basically the things they dont want, wont be filtered out by this [ eg. uncategorized porn on jailbroken phones, if there is such a thing] Australia is a wonderful country, but we need a bit more clarity in such things as net neutrality, censorship and separation of church and state. [The latter is only hinted at in the constitution, and has been interpreted very weakly in court judgements.]