A submission to the Senate Select Committee on Information Technologies

Regarding the

BROADCASTING SERVICES AMENDMENT (ONLINE SERVICES) BILL 1999

From Victoria's Network: VICNET

328 Swanston Street

MELBOURNE VIC 3000.

vicnet@vicnet.net.au

http://www.vicnet.net.au/

Richard Hayward, VICNET Editor. editor@vicnet.net.au

Gary Hardy, VICNET Manager. garyh@vicnet.net.au.

Contents.

1. Executive Summary.

2. Introduction.

3. Implications for Internet service providers.

4. Implications for the wider community.

5. Suggestions for Consideration.

6. Summary.

Submission from Victoria's Network: VICNET.

1. A regulatory framework that requires Internet service providers to regulate online content will be ineffective.

2. The regulatory framework will impose a significant administrative and financial burden upon Internet service providers.

3. The proposed method of filtering online content by Internet service providers is not technically feasible.

4. The regulatory framework will increase cost and reduce capabilities for the wider Internet community including content providers, e-commerce providers, and Internet users in general.

5. Online content providers, not Internet service providers, control content. Efforts at regulation should be directed at content providers rather than Internet service providers.

6. Parents, teachers and other responsible adults should be encouraged to teach children about responsible use of the Internet.

2. Introduction.

This document represents a submission to the Select Committee on Information Technologies on the inquiry into the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill 1999. The organisation presenting this submission is Victoria's Network: VICNET, or "VICNET". VICNET is functionally and administratively a unit of the State Library of Victoria, an agency of Arts Victoria (a division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, State Government of Victoria). The State Library of Victoria is the oldest government funded free public library in Australia

VICNET is an Internet service provider that hosts over 2000 online content providers, and has around 10,000 members that are registered users of VICNET services. VICNET 's web site provides around 10 million hits per month, and around 30,000 visitors per week visit its Home Page (http://www.vicnet.net.au/).

This submission relates to consideration of the "regulatory framework relating to illegal or offensive material published and transmitted through online services such as the Internet."

3. Implications for Internet service providers.

VICNET has examined the consequences of the regulatory framework proposed by the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill 1999 ("the Bill"), and provides here information regarding the impact of the Bill on its operations. Detailed below are the specific implications for service providers such as VICNET arising as a result of the implementation of the proposed regulatory framework.

Restricting access to certain Internet content is a difficult and impractical task. It is likely that efforts to restrict access to certain Internet content will be both unsuccessful and costly to implement. Complaints about certain Internet content should be directed to content providers (i.e. the author or publisher of the material) rather than Internet service providers. It is difficult for Internet service providers to monitor content providers. Content providers have an obligation to ensure that their content is within the law. Content providers hosting information with VICNET are required to abide by a series of Terms and Conditions which ensures that the burden of responsibility falls upon the content provider rather than the Internet service provider. The content provider must remove offensive content, not the Internet service provider. The Internet service provider is unable to respond to questions regarding online content; communication regarding online content should be directed towards the content provider. A suggestion is that Commonwealth authorities should contact the content provider instead of the Internet service provider in relation to illegal activities.

There are no readily apparent means of regulating Internet content hosting or Internet carriage services. Efforts to do so will be expensive and unsuccessful, and unnecessary financial and administrative burden is inevitable. It is difficult or impossible for Internet service providers to deal with content as specified in an industry code or industry standard. For example there is no available technology capable of providing a means of filtering content.

An Internet service provider can respond to a written notice from the ABA to deny access to an identified content provider. The Internet service provider cannot respond to a request to remove prohibited content, as such content is controlled by the content provider, not by the Internet service provider. The most effective way for content to be controlled is by contacting the content provider directly, as Internet service providers are unlikely to be able to provide a successful means of controlling content.

It is unlikely that any action taken against prohibited content hosted outside Australia will be successful.

4. Implications for the wider community.

Implications Arising from Implementation of the Regulatory Framework.

There are a number of implications for the wider community arising from the implementation of the regulatory framework. The wider community refers to online content providers, e-commerce providers, and Internet users.

1. Consumers of Internet services will face increasing prices due to costs borne by Internet service providers.

2. Internet related commerce will be restricted by the effects of enforcement of regulations, and due to administrative requirements placed upon content providers.

3. Confusion will arise as to liability in cases of actions arising from access to illegal content.

4. Use of the Internet, as a publishing medium will be restricted by the administrative burden.

5. The framework will be easily circumvented by Internet users who have consistently demonstrated their ability to do so.

6. The vast volume of content on the Internet will increase the difficulty of the task.

7. Non-offensive material may be accidentally filtered.

5. Suggestions for Consideration by the Committee

1. Promotion of responsible use of the Internet by children through education of parents, teachers and other responsible adults such as librarians.

2. A framework that places the burden of responsibility upon the content provider rather than the Internet service provider.

6. Summary.

In summary, there is estimated to be a range of negative impacts upon Internet service providers as a result of the proposed regulatory framework. These are both administrative and financial. The community at large will be restricted in its use of the Internet for a wide range of purposes by the regulatory framework. The actual measures themselves will fail to regulate online content. Online content regulation is best done by online content providers rather than Internet service providers. Assistance should be given to parents, teachers and other responsible adults, in order to assist them to guide children in responsible use of the Internet.