Aussie taxes to fund 'free' porn blocks

The federal government in Australia is to spend AU$116.6m (£46.7m) to provide all Australian families with free internet pornography blocking software.

The minister for communications, IT and the arts, Helen Coonan, announced the initiative today. A spokesperson for the minister told silicon.com sister site ZDNet Australia the first free filters should be available for download from a government portal within six months.

Coonan said in a statement: "It puts a safer internet experience within the grasp of every Australian family and it is a solution to the problem posed by internet pornography that is simple, safe, effective and free.

"Every parent will be able to receive a free filter for their home computer [and] there will be child-safe terminals in libraries across Australia."

Australia has long been held up as an example of a nation whose government and legislators have the strongest understanding of internet-related problems and the need to protect businesses and end users. Back in March the country took steps to force ISPs to be more proactive in stamping out spam, while in 2003 the Australian government passed an anti-spam law which can land junk mailers with fines of £446,000 per day.

It's likely the government will covet political mileage from this latest initiative. The minister's press release announcing the free porn-filters talked up a "comprehensive national community education campaign" designed to "ensure that all Australian families are aware of the benefits of regulating their children's internet experience by using a safe and effective computer filter".

At this stage, no specific filtering software has been selected for the initiative. The minister's spokesperson said an accreditation process will be put in place. ISP-level filtering will also be an option for customers of providers that offer it.

The minister's release added: "Under this scheme, families will be offered a filtered service or a free filter for their home computer either for download from a dedicated website or delivered to them on CD-ROM. All ISPs will also be required to offer filters to new and existing customers at no additional cost."

ISPs will be rebated if they choose to offer filtering at a service provider level.

The government's internet safety agency NetAlert will receive a AU$5m (£2m) funding boost and become co-located with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma).

Of the total spend, AU$93.3m (£37.3m) will be spent on filtering software over three years. The minister's spokeswoman said the programme will be reviewed in its third year.

According to the minister's spokeswoman, almost no ISPs currently offer any kind of content filtering, so the government will study the feasibility of ISP-level filtering for a fourth time. She added: "In an effort to ensure that we are using the most effective means at our disposal to crack down on offensive and inappropriate material on the internet, Acma will undertake a further trial of ISP based filtering in Tasmania."

Patrick Gray writes for ZDNet Australia