Internet censorship: Australia’s new laws blocking search engine results

In The Guardian Anita Sethi has a Q & A with The Art of the Publisher-author Roberto Calasso.         Regrettably, he refuses to answer the question: "What writers working today do you most admire ?"         And of all the problems to have, this is one I'm jealous of: I have about 50,000 books in five different places. It's a drama every day trying to find a book.         They've announced the winner of the 2019 Stella Prize -- the A$50,000 Australian prize that considers both fiction and non -- and it is The Erratics, a memoir by Vicki Laveau-Harvie; see also her acceptance speech -- where she notes:  The Erratics, which is my first book, has had an unusual publishing story. It won the Finch Memoir Prize in 2018, and then found itself out of print six months later, last December, when that publisher closed.        This does not appear to be readily available in the US/UK; in Australia, it was picked up by Harper Collins after the demise of her original publisher; see also the Fourth Estate publicity page.  Australia’s Digital Platforms Inquiry: will this lead to a revolution in the regulation of the internet?

Angela Flannery HOLDING REDLICH  In December 2017 the Australian Government tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with conducting an inquiry into the impact of “digital platforms”, that is, online search engines, social media platforms and digital content aggregators, on competition in the media and advertising services markets. The government called for the inquiry primarily to investigate concerns that the move of advertising, and therefore advertising revenue, from traditional media formats such as print, radio and television to online platforms may have a negative impact on Australia’s media sector, particularly on the ability of that sector to fund the provision of quality news and journalism.

Introduction In December 2017 the Australian Government tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with conducting an inquiry into the impact of “digital platforms”, that is, online search engines, social media platforms and digital content aggregators, on competition in the media and advertising services markets. The government called for ... Read more Internet censorship: Australia’s new laws blocking search engine results — a reflection of a trend to censor Robyn Chatwood DENTONS Free speech campaigners are alarmed that Australia appears to be on a worrying trend as far as internet censorship is concerned.1 The most recent development is the passing in the federal parliament of new copyright laws which make it easier for copyright owners to apply for an injunction requiring an internet carriage service or search engine provider (SEP) to block access to online content located outside of Australia.2 Historically Australia had been reluctant to impose Australian law on the rest of the world, although that appears to be changing in recent times. However extraterritorial application has increasingly been a feature of recent legislation, such as Australia’s world-first decryption laws and other changes to the criminal laws enacted in late 2018 which prohibited disseminating of information to a foreign principal if it has a security classification or is relevant to Australia’s national security and the disclosure either prejudices Australia’s national security or advantages a foreign country.3 These new laws and recent court decisions show a certain determination by Australia to support internet censorship with global impact — a trend set to impact freedom of speech. This article surveys the recent developments. 1 ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Preliminary Report (December 2018) www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ACCC%20Digital%20Platforms%20Inquiry%20-%20Preliminary%20Report.pdf . 2 ACMA Broken Concepts: The Australian Communications Legislative Landscape (August 2011) www.acma.gov.au/~/media/Office%20of%20the%20Chair/Information/pdf/ACMA_BrokenConcepts_Final_29Aug1%20pdf.pdf . 3 ACMA Submission to ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Issues Paper April 2018 www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Australian%20Communications%20and%20Media%20Authority%20%28April%202018%29.pdf . 4 Above, at 4–5. 5 ACCC Communications Sector Market Study (April 2018) www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Communications%20Sector%20Market%20Study%20Final%20Report%20April%202018_0.pdf . 6 Department of Communications and the Arts Review of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (October 2016) www.communications.gov.au/documents/review-australian-communications-and-media-authority-final-report . 7 Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Convergence Review (March 2012) www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/1339_convergence.pdf . 8 Hon R Finkelstein QC Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Media and Media Regulation (28 February 2012) www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/1205_finkelstein.pdf . 9 ACMA Australian Communications and Media Authority Response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Digital Platforms Inquiry Preliminary Report (February 2019) www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Australian%20Communications%20and%20Media%20Authority%20%28February%202019%29.PDF at 6. 10 Above, at 3. Read more