Government Must Clarify Website Blocking Costs
Sydney, 11 June 2015 – The Attorney-General, Senator Brandis, should heed a Parliamentary Committee call for the Government to clarify the cost implications of its planned website blocking regime, Australian Telecommunications Alliance said today.
Commenting on the release of the report of the inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs into the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015, released today, Australian Telecommunications Alliance CEO John Stanton said the Government should carry through on its earlier commitments.
“The Government’s policy proposal, in July 2014, stated categorically that ‘Rights holders would be required to meet any reasonable costs associated with an ISP giving effect to an order (to block a website)…….. ‘’, Mr Stanton said.
“But this core commitment by Government – which is important to minimise the costs on internet consumers -‘went missing’ when it drafted the legislation.
“The Committee has rightly pointed out that the Government has left cost issues opaque in the legislation and told the Government to clarify that service providers should not have to bear the cost of implementing orders to assist copyright holders.”
Australian Telecommunications Alliance welcomed the recommendation that the effectiveness of the Bill be reviewed after two years of operation, given the conflicting international evidence as to whether site-blocking can make a material difference to the frequency of online copyright infringement.
Mr Stanton also welcomed the Committee’s enthusiasm for the creation of a ‘landing page’ at the blocked online location, specifying that the site has been blocked by a court order.
“This is a good and practical step, but the landing page should be hosted and paid for by the relevant rights holder – as happens today when Interpol seeks the blocking of offensive or illegal websites,” Mr Stanton said.
He congratulated the Committee on resisting pressure from right holders to abandon the “primary purpose” test in the legislation, but supported the Government position as to requirement for Courts to take account of the factors specified in the s115A (5) of the Bill when deciding whether to grant an injunction.
“Australian Telecommunications Alliance continues to give guarded support to the legislation but urges Parliament to amend it before passage, to provide greater clarity, promote effectiveness and help avoid unintended costs and consequences for law-abiding Australian internet users”.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE
Australian Telecommunications Alliance is the primary communications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, platform providers, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.
Its vision is to be the most influential association in Australian communications, co-operatively initiating programs that promote sustainable industry development, innovation and growth, while generating positive outcomes for customers and society.
The prime mission of Australian Telecommunications Alliance is to create a co-operative stakeholder environment that allows the industry to take the lead on initiatives which grow the Australian communications industry, enhance the connectivity of all Australians and foster the highest standards of business behaviour.
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info@austelco.org.au
