• Colin A. Hughes, Gareth Griffith
• Research Service, Parliament of New South Wales

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18 November 2008This paper outlines the current debate over the Commonwealth Government's filtering scheme for internet content and the practice of governments in other countries.

It concludes: 'With the limited exceptions of Germany and Italy, mandatory ISP level filtering is not a feature of any of the countries reviewed. In place, rather, are voluntary ISP filtering schemes designed to prevent accidental access to a defined list of illegal sites containing child pornography. However, in the UK the position seems to be that the internet industry is encouraged to participate in this scheme, under threat of regulatory intervention should it fail to do so. The line between mandatory and voluntary participation is not clear-cut.'