Australia Temporarily Backs Away From Censoring Internet

This is what many will call "slippery slope" territory. But child pornography is just flat out wrong. I'm all for individual freedom and responsibility, but sometimes, something like this should be at least tried before people cry, "they're taking our liberties away." I suspect the only people who will miss child pornography are child pornographers and potential or real child molesters. I would argue having access to this only fans the flames in would-be molesters.

It would be nice to but it just plain cannot be done practically except for web and torrent site tracking and blocking (a 'large net' approach). Even with todays recognition software you cannot pick out specific subjective material (such as children) from the massive internet data stream, and deciding what is child pornography and what is an Innocent picture of someones daughter having fun at the beach during a holiday.

Even if this was addressed adequately it still ignores the real problem - social networks like face-book. Where a pedophile downloads images of kiddy porn off the internet, a pedophile on a social network is actively out for no good.

One might argue that a little online access for some to questionable material may reduce the chances of these people trying to in act their (well you know what I mean), I don't know I am not a psychologist.

The main point in the end is to protect the children (in this case), and if you cannot find and treat/lockup (depending on the situation) these people the next best thing is to reduce the chances of them harming children.

Sadly the U.S. government is proffering this vacuous 'for the better good' argument as an excuse to regulate the Internet for other reasons, and once such is in place, there's no recalling it. When SOPA was buried Rep Travis Smith (R-TX), author of SOPA, was completely unfazed by its defeat. Not only, but he already had another bill up his sleeve, this time one purporting to go after the child pornographers. Same turd, different whitewash.

Apparently the hacker group Anonymous got wind of his latest and promptly shut down the country's 40 biggest child-porn sites in one day to demonstrate, I suppose, that it can be done and without the need for Internet censorship. Just shut 'em down. But Anonymous isn't the only group that apparently knows how to hack.

The USG knows how to hack too - particularly the security agencies, in their various incarnations. Moreover, these 'hackers' are extremely well-funded and have access to the world's most sophisticated tools and software made just for the purpose with the cost being no object.

To every 40 child-porn sites Anonymous can close down, these agencies can nail 40,000 - if they wanted to - and so do we really need these bills here? Unlikely. If Mr. Smith and his cronies want to protect children from the horrific malaise that is child porn, they already know who and what can do it better and faster and more effectively than any legislation he could dream up.

Evidently then, Smith has got other motives for introducing this legislation and I really doubt if any of his stated objectives are in fact the Real Ones. Bills like SOPA are now coming down the chute faster and faster, one right after another. There's a big push somewhere backstage to regulate the Internet in this country, and for reasons one can only guess.

Perhaps the Wizard of Oz has a lesson for us here: Pay no attention to what's playing onstage - the giant, scowling apparition and the fire and smoke and pyrotechnics. Rather, disregard that and do pay attention to the man behind the curtain.

If the government gets filtering capability of the entire internet, they will filter anything that they feel is inappropriate. It's chilling. For example: The current administration could filter out any climate research that suggests that humans aren't responsible for global warming. On the flip side, the republicans, (if in power), could filter out anything that had to do with gay rights or gay marriage.................based on their own view of right and wrong.

Politicians of all stripes have proven that they are easily seduced by power. If it's true that they can find these child porn sites so easily, it sickens me that they aren't tracking down the individuals that are involved and sticking their a$$es in prison for the rest of their lives.

Child pornography is already illegal. Internet filters are not going to stop the people that engage in it........................in fact the internet has proven to be a valuable tool in catching these freaks. Our governments need to leave the internet alone and enforce the things that are already illegal. If they use the internet to find them, that's just fine with me.