Thread: SA gags the internet

Rann Government, Opposition unite to gag internet election debate | Adelaide Now

SOUTH Australia has become one of the few states in the world to censor the internet.

The new law, which came into force on January 6, requires internet bloggers, and anyone making a comment on next month's state election, to publish their real name and postcode when commenting on the poll.

The law will affect anyone posting a comment on an election story on The Advertiser's AdelaideNow website, as well as other news sites such as The Punch, the ABC's The Drum and Fairfax newspapers' National Times site.

It also appears to apply to election comment made on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The law, which was pushed through last year as part of a raft of amendments to the Electoral Act and supported by the Liberal Party, also requires media organisations to keep a person's real name and full address on file for six months, and they face fines of $5000 if they do not hand over this information to the Electoral Commissioner.

...


Attorney-General Michael Atkinson denied that the new law was an attack on free speech.

"The AdelaideNow website is not just a sewer of criminal defamation, it is a sewer of identity theft and fraud," Mr Atkinson said.

"There is no impinging on freedom of speech, people are free to say what they wish as themselves, not as somebody else."

Mr Atkinson also said he expected The Advertiser to target him for sponsoring the law. "I am also certain that Advertiser Newspapers and News Limited will punish me personally, viciously for being the attorney-general responsible for this law," he said.

"You will publish false stories about me, invent things about me to punish me."

So can we cut SA off from the rest of Australia before the scum spreads any further?

maybe its a weak attempt too poll where the unhappy are?

wow, it doesn't seem to matter what atkinson talks about, all he says is "me, me, me, me, me" ad nauseum.

If I mention the assassination of Atkinson in this thread, do you think it would attract the attention of authorities?

So wait, any comment you make needs to be coupled by telling the whole internet who you are and where you live? Wow good work, that was clearly well thought through.

What's interesting is that this 'law' was passed by both the government and the opposition. Now that the law has come to the publics attention thanks to some journo's and a backlash has started, the liberals have started to distance themselves from it!

I'd be interested to see how that held up if you got taken to court. Sounds like an invasion of privacy to me.

There was a comment from Nick X on the radio that he thinks it could be contravening a federal law which protect bloggers anominity when giving (non- defamatory) points of view or comments.

Originally Posted by rec

If I mention the assassination of Atkinson in this thread, do you think it would attract the attention of authorities?

you'd only show yourself as a hypocrite, since in the other thread you clearly supported this type of behaviour by supporting the internet license.

The media doesn't need to invent stuff about Atkinson there is already plenty of material there. Based on the interviews about R18 games its obvious he has a strong interest in Jap rape games as it's all he talks about while ignoring the actual debate, I'm sure that is enough for a few news stories there alone. Wonder how many he has played for "research material"?

This is a political comment so better put my name and post code.

Me @ not in SA.

BTW on a more serious note this just an attempt to bring web publishing in line with what is required by the print media. However as has been stated many times before, just because a system works on one media type doesn't mean it works for all.


PS any cyber stalker* could figure out who I am anyway.

*If your a good-looking female fell free to contact me.
You don't count Milenko I know you follow me with your cameras every time I enter the casino