As per our commitment to voluntarily implement blocking of child sexual abuse material (announced in mid-2010) and in cooperation with a formal request from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Optus will be implementing blocking of the INTERPOL “worst of the worst” list from July 2011. (The AFP acts as INTERPOL’s agent within Australia.)
We can only confirm our own involvement, but the Internet Industry Association is publishing an industry code of practice to guide ISPs that wish to participate in the scheme.
Optus’ blocking solution does not identify individual customers nor does it generate reports on which customers have attempted to access websites that are on the INTERPOL ’worst of’ list.
Blocking will be based on the INTERPOL “worst of the worst” list – a list of prohibited domains that have been independently verified by INTERPOL and at least one other partner law enforcement agency as containing child sexual abuse material, which is illegal in overseas jurisdictions and also under Australian Law.
As the content is illegal, the Domains are kept confidential. INTERPOL maintains very strict criteria for the domains that are included on their list. Details of the criteria are available from INTERPOL’s website.
All complaints by Australian residents about content which is believed to be illegal must be directed to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The ACMA is required to investigate all genuine complaints made by Australian residents or corporations operating in Australia. For details on how to lodge a complaint with the ACMA go to: http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=CONTACT_COMPLAINTS_OVIEW
