Gillard renews backing for Australian internet filter plan

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday renewed her backing for a controversial internet filter, saying it was driven by a “moral question“.

The proposed filter will block access to material such as rape, drug use, bestiality and child sex abuse, and will be administered by internet service provider companies.

Web giants like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have slammed the initiative as setting a precedent for censorship, while cyber-activists have hit government websites with a hacking campaign.

Angry user groups have launched an online campaign accusing the government of censorship, likening the proposed system to firewalls in China and Iran.