The Liberal Party has announced a broad Internet censorship policy less than 48 hours from the 2013 Federal Election, in order to shield the policy from detailed scrutiny[1].

“The Liberals’ decision to release a draconian Internet censorship policy this close to an election is utterly disgraceful,” said Brendan Molloy, lead NSW Senate candidate for the Pirate Party.

“The policy seems significantly broader than the defeated Labor policy, and is simply a waste of money. The mandatory installation of censorship software on devices seems to be very similar to a policy that China has previously implemented, a state renowned for its Internet censorship regime, and even they dumped it[2].”

“Opt-out filtering treats everyone like a child by default, and puts those who choose to opt-out from the Government-chosen list of acceptable websites on a list of deemed “undesirables” that can be later abused. This is a reprehensible policy and we will fight it to the death.”

“It’s simple: the Liberal policy will make censorship malware mandatory on your devices. That’s not okay,” he concluded.

The Pirate Party has released a pledge detailing the 16 policy areas they will focus on upon election to Parliament[3]. The third pledge focuses specifically around standing against any mandatory censorship regime.

[1] http://www.itnews.com.au/News/355885,coalition-to-filter-internet-smartphones.aspx
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dam_Youth_Escort
[3] http://getawarrant.org.au