期刊名称：University of Ottawa Law and Technology Journal
印刷版ISSN：1710-6028
电子版ISSN：1715-006X
出版年度：2006
卷号：3
期号：02
页码：333-352
出版社：University of Ottawa
摘要：The Online Services Amendment enacted in Australia in 1999 aimed to a) provide a means for addressing complaints about certain internet content; b) restrict access to certain internet content that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult; and c) protect children from exposure to internet content that is unsuitable for children. The introduction of the legislation caused a great furore. It was widely suggested that the legislation would introduce a regime of draconian censorship, that all internet content would be monitored, and that much of it would be blocked. Alternative suggestions were that the legislation would be totally ineffective, and would see Australia labelled as the “village idiot of the internet world.” Others thought that Australia might just turn out to be “the wisest person in town.” This article examines the provisions of the Online Services Amendment and explains the scheme enacted to control access to internet content in Australia. This scheme includes the establishment of complaints mechanisms, content take-down directions, industry codes of practice, provisions for community education, and complementary state and territory legislation to overcome jurisdictional difficulties. Having explained the scheme, the article then discusses the effects that the Online Services Amendment has had on access to internet content, the problems that have arisen as a result of the legislation, and recent Australian developments in the sphere of internet content control.
