The fallout from the revelations of just what is on the Great Australian Firewall blacklist continues, even as Wikileaks is still submerged. The Age reports (Labor's blog-watch plan hits Whirlpool of dissent) reports the latest utterances of Stephen Conroy, the minister behind the assault on internet freedom:
THE Government will begin trawling blog sites as part of a new media monitoring strategy, with documents singling out a website critical of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy for special mention.
Soon after Senator Conroy praised Singapore's Government for reducing monitoring of blogs, tender documents issued by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy reveal it is looking for a "comprehensive digital monitoring service for print and electronic media".
The department later attached a clarification confirming the term "electronic media" included "blogs such as Whirlpool".
Now. This sounds like political censorship to me. Whirlpool is frequently critical of Conroy and his internet censorship aspirations. See how the secrecy involved in maintaining a blacklist now pans out? This article makes it sound as though blogs critical of Conroy's plans for internet filtering are going to be targeted for monitoring, and potentially banning. However Conroy's remarks were intended to be taken, it's natural for those in opposition to his policy on internet censorship to take them in this way.
Perhaps Conroy is just a bit confused. Or perhaps the The Age's reporter is? Or perhaps we do all need our tin foil hats.