[research] Draconian Australian law could target slash fans (among many, many others)

[unjapanologist]

Originally published at Academic FFF. You can comment here or there.

A new Australian law could impose penalties on anyone who views slash fic or other (fan) media that feature fictional minors in a sexual situation. This isn't throwing out the baby with the bathwater, it's also throwing out the bath, the parents, the dog, and a couple of people who were just walking past the house.

James Welker pointed me to the original notice linked above. Dru Pagliassotti worries about the law's impact on scholarship in Australia. An Austrialian government consultation paper has details on the proposed internet 'filter'. The protest website No Clean Feed explains how to take action, and indicates that the law will not only target anything that is deemed child pornography:

The category of material that has been 'refused classification' includes websites about euthanasia, controversial movies such as 'Ken Park' and 'Baise-moi', and many games that are designed for people over16 years of age.

If you don't live in Australia, you can sign a petition or donate to No Clean Feed.

Comments

[water-rose.livejournal.com]

*smile* Happy to put things into things into perspective.

For added perspective, this 'idea' (using the term losely) has been floating around for the last 14 years. What happens EVERY time is this;

Party not in Power: *decides to score points* Hey, Party in Power, why aren't you doing anything to filter out the child porn on the net?

General Public: DEATH to child porn!

Party in Power: Oh shit... Ah, we have internet companies doing tests of a filter!

General public: NO! Censorship!

Party not in Power: Oppression!

Party in Power: -_-' *whisper* oh fuck you all. *out loud* Our testing shows it won't work. Oh, look! There's a convinent and possibly made up on the spot mistake the other party made! Take your rage there.

Filter issue: *disappears until the next party change*

So again, thanks for the concern, but unless we're taken over by China, it's not an issue.

BTW, could those of you in the USA and other places with snow post some over here? We're getting rather low on drinkable water.

[fanficforensics.livejournal.com]

I sure hope that's how it plays out. Perhaps I'm just still shell-shocked from France (just south of the border here) passing that three strikes law. It's completely gaga, yet they somehow got it through. At least the EU parliament is acting like a gathering of thinking human beings on the issue of internet and copyright. The parliament is pretty awesome sometimes.

Our snow melted last week or I'd mail you some. Sorry!