Update from Get Up! Australia
As young people- our lives have become accustomed to constant internet use. We are in the information age, where everything we have ever wanted to know takes a few taps of keyboard keys and a click of a mouse.
Imagine if we suddenly could not access certain sites because the Government blocked it? I don’t want someone telling me what I can and can’t view. What do you think?
Here’s the background from Get Up! Australia and a recent email.
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The Federal Government is planning to force all Australian servers to filter internet traffic and block any material the Government deems ‘inappropriate’. Under the plan, the Government can add any ‘unwanted’ site to a secret blacklist.
Testing has already begun on systems that will slow our internet by up to 87%, make it more expensive, miss the vast majority of inappropriate content and accidentally block up to 1 in 12 legitimate sites. Our children deserve better protection – and that won’t be achieved by wasting millions on this deeply flawed system.
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Click here to sign the petition and then send the link to your friends!
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet/442
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Update from Get Up! Australia
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I’ve just had some really exciting feedback on your campaign against the Government’s proposed mandatory internet filter, and I wanted to share it with you as our campaign starts to heat up again in 2009.
Over $45,000 has been raised so far – meaning our online ads have been seen over 3.5 million times. A senior political adviser close to the issue in Canberra has just told me: ‘I can’t read a story about the filter without seeing your ad pop up all over the page. It’s being talked about constantly.’
In other words, your campaign is getting noticed in the places that count the most: the halls of Parliament. They know that the campaign is backed by over 95,000 signatures – including yours – on our petition. They know this issue won’t go away.
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to pressure politicians and those who want these plans to succeed. The online ad, generating over 3.5 million impressions so far, has been complemented by an interactive widget that allows people to spread the word through their own sites, and sustained media coverage – click here to see some examples.
Some of the most popular websites your ad was shown on so far include news sites like The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, News.com.au, and other sites the most engaged internet users visit every day, like CNet, Lifehacker and Facebook.
Now that the Parliamentary year is back in full swing, the ad is continuing to show on significant national news websites.
If you’d like to see it in action, here’s one place you can see the ad at the moment: News.com.au.
With live testing of the filter about to begin, there’s never been a more important time to ramp up our efforts.
That’s why I’m excited to keep this campaign going with more high-profile and attention grabbing advertising, renewed efforts behind the scenes, and more bold campaign actions. We’re also working on a soon-to-be-announced forum bringing together business, industry, politicians and the blogosphere to discuss the filter.
I can’t wait to make it happen with you.
Thanks,
Simon Sheikh
GetUp National Director
PS – We’re confident a sustained campaign can see a victory on this issue. Getting this petition to 100,000 would send a strong signal – click here to send it to your friends and get us to 100,000. You can also donate here to help ensure the campaign is ongoing.
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