OMEN
01-04-2009, 03:55 PM
* Staff denied access to mainstream internet sites
* Employers' blacklists growing
* May be what to expect with internet filtering
SEX education, cartoons and classic sculptures are among the website material deemed too risque for Brisbane City Council workers, while Queensland Transport employees are not allowed to view weather pages, which are deemed as entertainment.
Queensland police were denied access to the official Olympic Games site last year; food manufacturer Harvest Freshcuts restricts employees' internet access to online banking sites; and Queensland Health staff find it easier to fax urgent reports than wait for the approval to email material with medical terminology or images.
Websites commonly blocked include social networking, gambling, share-trading and pornography sites.
But some employees have complained the policies are hampering their work.
Nicolas Suzar, from Electronic Frontiers Australia, said the "net nannies" used at work were a good indication of what home internet users could expect after mandatory filters were introduced.
Trials of the filters, expected to block up to 10,000 websites and slow internet access by up to 87 per cent, are due to begin in weeks.
Mr Suzar said the criteria being used to blacklist websites was still not publicly known.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has said the trials were a chance to test the technical concerns about filters raised in a report commissioned by the Howard Government.
NewsAU
* Employers' blacklists growing
* May be what to expect with internet filtering
SEX education, cartoons and classic sculptures are among the website material deemed too risque for Brisbane City Council workers, while Queensland Transport employees are not allowed to view weather pages, which are deemed as entertainment.
Queensland police were denied access to the official Olympic Games site last year; food manufacturer Harvest Freshcuts restricts employees' internet access to online banking sites; and Queensland Health staff find it easier to fax urgent reports than wait for the approval to email material with medical terminology or images.
Websites commonly blocked include social networking, gambling, share-trading and pornography sites.
But some employees have complained the policies are hampering their work.
Nicolas Suzar, from Electronic Frontiers Australia, said the "net nannies" used at work were a good indication of what home internet users could expect after mandatory filters were introduced.
Trials of the filters, expected to block up to 10,000 websites and slow internet access by up to 87 per cent, are due to begin in weeks.
Mr Suzar said the criteria being used to blacklist websites was still not publicly known.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has said the trials were a chance to test the technical concerns about filters raised in a report commissioned by the Howard Government.
NewsAU