Internet filtering will be introduced in Australia

My prediction: Rudd Government will introduce an internet filter regime under the dodgy auspices of stopping the 'nasty stuff'. But...Australia's interwebs is frantically trying to stop the further erosion of human rights, apparently.

The Government's "Clean Feed" (internet filtering) proposal will mean an unacceptable intrusion into the freedoms of Australians online. The right to determine what content I or my family can look is being taken away. The speed of internet access is being made even slower. The people I can associate with online is being taken away. There are not just social issues to consider, there are significant commercial ones too.

There are numerous reasons as to why the Government's "Clean Feed" scheme is bad policy; bad for the economy and the industry. But the response from the interwebs has been woeful at best - ill-coordinated; poorly organized; lacks on the ground physical presence, public support and exposure and activists (RTL or online); no (loosely) agreed plan or plans of action; and poor messaging at worst.

Key moments, campaign wise, have been lost when a little coordination and some activists could have capitalized on the day's news cycle when the "Clean Feed" receives media attention. It is not nearly enough to write to your local Member of Parliament, Senator Conroy and the other Senators from your particular state or territory. Relying on writing letters alone is a sure fire way of failing to swing the minds of backbenchers worried about their seats at the next election. Big business has not even been bothered by or with the filtering proposal, suggesting that they don't believe it to be a threat to business.

Stopping the "Clean Feed" must take a more coordinated approach that seeks to engage the broader community, not just those from the interwebs. Even the #nocleanfeed Twitter search feed fails to tick over at a rate expected from individuals supposedly concerned about our internet being filtered. For if 4 tweets, exactly the same, in the space of 38 hours constitutes 'spamming' the hash tag search, then there is clearly not enough discussion about the issue even among the Australian interwebs. Where is the discussion of the proposal and a means to coordinate actions and what kinds of actions (that's right there has to be a few different things done; it's not all websites, rallies and media). Where is the discussion happening about who is doing what lobbying, who they're lobbying, what they're being told etc.

While the Government's "Clean Feed" proposal is seemingly only opposed by a handful of Australians, then it will be implemented in my opinion.

Licentia per key tabula quod rectum mucro