(1)   Is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) satisfied that the terms of the 2007 Restricted Access System Declaration have been applied and that Australian citizens are prevented from accessing prohibited content hosted by iTunes, following reports that Australian citizens can give ‘V for Vendetta’ and ‘American Gangster’ to each other as gifts using iTunes cards purchased on eBay.

(2)  

(a)   Has the Minister received any recent research to indicate the degree of community acceptance of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) filtering policy which was released on 15 December 2009; and

(b)   can the Minister provide any report or information on that research.

(3)   With reference to the answer to question on notice no. 1469 (Senate 1-Hansard, 16 June 2009, p. 3456) and Internet content that is Refused Classification (RC), has the Government carried out any research to determine whether those items fall within the class of ‘some Internet content which is not acceptable in any civilised society’ to which the Minister referred on 15 December 2009.

(4)   With reference to the Minister’s ISP Filtering Frequently Asked Questions web site which states that ‘A technically competent user could circumvent filtering’;

(a)   has the Minister ever been shown how to circumvent ISP filters of the type tested by Enex Testlab in 2009; if so, where and when was that demonstration conducted, which acts were demonstrated, and how long did the demonstration take;

(b)   were warnings produced by the ISP filtering product pertaining to the circumvention attempt; and

(c)   if the answer to (a) is ‘No’, is the Minister prepared to make himself available for such a demonstration.

(5)  

(a)   Has any research or testing been carried out to determine any meaningful way in which ISP level filtering facilities are technically superior to personal computer level filtering facilities;

(b)   has Enex Testlab qualified their report’s ‘technically competent’ assertion with any additional guidance about the nature of the competencies required; and

(c)   as one of the deliverables in the Government’s Technical Testing Framework for ISP filtering products released in November 2008 and used as the basis of Enex Testlab’s testing was ‘the capacity of filters to detect and provide warnings on circumvention attempts’, did Enex TestLab test against that requirement; if so, why did they not report on it.

(6)   Can an explanation be provided of what proportion of material on the Refused Classification (RC) list is child pornography/abuse/exploitation material.

(7)   Given that the majority of material which falls into the RC category is legal to possess for personal purposes in all states and territories, other than Western Australia and prescribed areas of the Northern Territory, and legal to view via the Internet in all states and territories other than Western Australia and the Northern Territory, can details be provided of the proportion of material on the RC list that is legal for adults to personally possess and view in states and territories, other than Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

(1)   Following the receipt of complaints made in relation to two specific items of content offered by the iTunes service, the Australian Communications and Media Authority conducted investigations that resulted in notices being issued to the content service provider concerned in accordance with clause 47 of Schedule 7 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. The Australian Communications and Media Authority was satisfied that the content service provider complied with those notices. These investigations were finalised on 4 September 2009.

(2)  

(a)   The Minister is aware of some research, for example, a telephone poll commissioned by the ABC TV program Hungry Beast and conducted by a reputable research company which found 80% support for the Government’s policy to require ISP’s to block identified RC content.

(b)   Details can be found on the Hungry Beast’s website.

(3)   The Australian Parliament in conjunction with States and Territories has determined that certain content is not acceptable to a civilised society. This content is classified as Refused Classification under the National Classification Scheme and includes child sexual abuse material, bestiality, sexual violence and detailed instruction in crime.

(4) (a)   Yes, the Minister has been shown a demonstration of a number of circumvention techniques of the filter products used in the ISP filtering pilot. This demonstration took place on Friday 5 June 2009, at the Enex TestLab at RMIT in Bundoora, VIC. The demonstration was of one hour duration, and a number of circumvention techniques were demonstrated including VPN and TOR.

(b)   No products issued warnings about circumvention techniques.

(c)   Not applicable.

(5)  

(a)   While some ISPs provide downloadable PC-level filtering software to their customers, there are currently very few Australian ISPs who provide content filtering at the ISP-level. The aim is to encourage the internet industry to offer a wider range of content filtering options to consumers.                         User-friendly ISP-level filtering would give Australians greater choice in the content they would like filtered without needing to manage the complexities of downloading software to their home computers.                         The previous Government launched the National Filter Scheme. The Scheme’s free PC filtering software experienced a low take-up and very low ongoing use. 

(b)   The level of competency required would depend on the type of circumvention methods attempted.

(c)   The capacity of filters to detect and provide warnings on circumvention was not tested during the pilot as none of the filtering solutions provided such granular controls including monitoring and alerting, and it is not a requirement of the Government’s policy.

(6)   A Refused Classification Content list does not yet exist as legislation enabling the compilation of such a list has not been enacted.         In relation to the black list maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in accordance with the Schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. At 30 November 2009:

(7)   A Refused Classification content list does not yet exist as legislation enabling the compilation of such a list has not been enacted.         Refused Classification content which consists of child sexual abuse material is illegal to possess or access.          All Refused Classification content is illegal to exhibit, distribute, sell or make available for hire.  The ISP filtering policy is attempting to align, to the extent practicable, treatment of Refused Classification material online with its treatment offline.