Australia backs down from Internet filter plan

There was a reason why So many were deported to Botany Bay.......

"I am happy with this compromise"

That's one way to look at it. Even if it sounds like trying to convince yourself, desparately.

Another way to look at it is to realise that very few people are actually interested in child porn; the rest gets nauseous both because it's not their kink and because the must-protect-children reflex is usually rather strong in animals, including us. No, I don't say that disparagingly. So while wanting "bad stuff" to go away is a natural reflex, especially for politicians, in this case it's also the wrong thing to do.

Think about it. We have law enforcement to deal with that sort of stuff, so let them do their job properly. Shuffling things under a filter isn't helping anybody. But it does open the door to further filtering, as happened in the UK.

So this compromise is a demonstratably real risk, and it doesn't buy us much. Yes, there's probably some child porn floating around the 'web, just like there's shock sites full of things that can never be un-seen, and shock-porn (rule 34), and so on. No, I don't want to visit any of that either. But very few of us need a filter to help them steer clear of it, so a filter isn't needed here either. Especially since filters tend to break more than they fix, hello IWF.

And interpol? They'll happily let themselves be used to nab political dissidents, too. So much for being part of an international effort.