Insulting Islam

In a victory for free speech, a Turkish man has been acquitted of insulting Islam.

The sad thing is that such a crime exists at all.

Sickeningly similar crimes exist in Australia.

Censorship Glitches

While the Australian interenet censorship trials continue, China continues to have difficulties with its system.

The last thing Australia needs is a system that bans content, slows down web browsing and emboldens meglomaniac politicians.

We have criminal laws to deal with content which it is a crime to posses, and the means to track that content exist.

Ultimately, these systems don't work, as the Chinese system demonstrated. Not only do they block the wrong content and fail to block a lot of the intended content, they also introduce further complexity into the system. This can result in a less reliable internet, and as the Chinese case demonstrates, security vulnerabilities.

In spite of all of these defects, the real harm in these systems is the very idea that politicians and bureaucrats think that they are entitled to block internet sites at will. The list is secret, and the mere publication of the list will result in the matter being referred to the Federal Police. Most of the banned sites do not involve child pornography.