Look away

As someone whose professional life is increasingly being impacted by the Internet, I've followed the debate about mandatory internet filtering with great interest. Today Jeff Bleich, the American ambassador to Australia, weighed into the debate, saying that it's unnecessary. I agree. I'm against internet filtering because it has no place in a democratic society. The existing regime of content regulation, whereby concerned users can report offensive content to the Australian Communications Authority, is more than adequate. It's not the government's place to regulate the Internet. It's up to parents to monitor their childrens' online activity, or to individual Internet users to take responsibility for what they access.