the tindog coffeehouse

It’s not just the Chinese government imposing nationwide Internet filtering.  Australia is getting it, too.

Under the current plan, Internet content filters will be mandatory for all Australians.  They get to choose, however, between two different levels.  The default plan blocks all content that may be objectionable to children, but consumers can opt-out, choosing a more watered-down blacklist which allows pornography but still blocks other “illegal content” (potentially including “euthanasia, drugs and protest”).

(Never mind that the filtering system probably won’t be very effective or that the deep-packet inspection required at the ISP level will cripple Internet speeds.  And of course, all costs associated with the filtering will be passed on to consumers.)

As ridiculous as this is, however, I can’t help but to wonder if this same sort of nonsense is inevitable here in the U.S.  Surely not, right?

Well, think about it:

1. Some American ISPs, such as Comcast, are already filtering Internet traffic.
2. The PRO-IP act signed into law this past weekend creates a “copyright czar” that reports directly to the President and greatly increases the penalties for committing copyright infringement.  (For example, illegally downloading a 10-song album now constitutes 10 separate illegal acts instead of just one.)
3. Australians have endured Draconian broadband usage caps for years, which are now finding their way into America.

Taking all these factors into consideration, is it too much of a stretch to foresee the same mandatory nationwide filtering being put into place here?

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not promoting pornography or other objectionable content.  I just happen to disagree with the government deciding what’s objectionable and what isn’t.

Update: Looks like that day is already here:

One of the protocols at the core of the Internet, DNS, serves two functions: To distribute huge lists of URLs and their addresses out across the Net, and to turn URLs (”gigaom.com”) into addresses (72.233.2.54). That makes it an ideal tool for limiting the sites people can visit, because it can distribute large lists of banned sites to servers, and then refuse to resolve blocked sites when surfers ask for their addresses.

Nominum, a maker of DNS and DHCP technology for big carriers like Comcast, Verizon, and Deutsche Telecom, has launched new software to do just this. “Carriers may face mandates to not resolve to porn, spyware and so on. This is the first stage of removal for these sites,” said Paul Mockapetris, who created DNS in 1983 and is now the company’s chairman and chief scientist.

In other words, the next time you try to visit a banned site, you’ll simply get an “Address Not Found” error. You’ll also be taking the first step toward a day when your government, your ISP, and even your community will decide what it’s OK for you to visit.