Shogun

As if Australians weren't riled up enough over their government's Internet filtering initiative, the level of discontent has risen amid recent revelations that certain filters will not be optional, as citizens were first led to believe. Criticism is building against Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, and now Australia's ISPs are joining the dogpile.

The Australian government first unveiled its filtering initiative in 2007, expected to cost AUS$189 million to implement. The money would be used to help ISPs cope with filtering requirements using the Australian Communications and Media Authority's official blacklist, which is, in turn, based on the country's National Classification Scheme. Despite widespread public outcry, Australia began testing the system in Tasmania earlier this year. At the time, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) claimed that the filters would be enabled by default, but that consumers would be able to request unfiltered connectivity if they wished to opt out of the program.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...ring-plan.html