Australian Internet to Censor 500 Websites in July

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s federal government and two major ISPs will be censoring more than 500 websites in July that they feel are unsuitable for the public.

According to reports, the plan is aimed squarely at blocking child porn sites and is being voluntarily driven by Telstra and Optus, two of the country’s largest ISPs.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority, along with a few global partners will be selecting the sites to be censored as part of a previously scrapped $9.8 million plan.

The two ISPs however, decided to continue with the filtering on their own.

But critics fear that the move is being done just for show, claiming that targeted sites can simply change their URL as a work around. They also fear the objectionable content can also be accessed through peer-to-peer networks and aggregation sites, where surfers can accidentally land.

Members of the Electronic Frontiers Association voiced their own concerns and said it is worried about how the blocked URL list will be created and hopes the process will include an appeals court for unfairly listed sites.

The group is calling for the government’s actions to be more transparent and are asking for an open discussion of exactly what type of content is to be censored.

Board member Colin Jacobs told the Telegraph, "There is a question about where the links are coming from and I'd like to know the answer to that. We've been waiting to hear details on this from the government. If they turn out to be zealous with the type of material that is on the list then we'd want to have a discussion about ways to introduce more transparency."

A report in Australia’s Gizmodo said, “It’s a murky, shadowy, grey area that would be better left untouched by censorship methods and better handled with international task forces and good old fashioned police work.”

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More