14 DAY TRIAL // Google has had a spotty history in Australia lately. While it has spoken out against government plans to institute what amounts to Internet censorship laws, it has at times acted against the very principles it claims to be upholding. It looks like the company is on the right track again as it is refusing to censor YouTube videos on the whims of the current Australian government.
The government had requested Google to block any video from YouTube, which would fall under the country's draconian "refused classification" (RC) content rules. These rules are supposedly put in place to "protect the children," a very popular argument for those pushing censorship laws, but, while some categories of content can be argued for, it goes way beyond its claimed purpose and has been shown to cover political or sensitive issues. Blocking that type of content would be a major stifle for free-speech, but then again, maybe that's what the government wants.
In fact, government officials are offering great examples of how Google indeed censors a wide range of material at the request of local governments, in China or Thailand. Clearly, Australia is looking at China's great achievements in enforcing strict censorship as an inspiration and great model for its own efforts. YouTube already keeps out adult material and many of the types of content covered by the RC rules so Google believes it doesn't need to go any further, as it would be a threat to democracy and would go against the things the company stands for.
"The scope of RC is simply too broad and can raise genuine questions about restrictions on access to information. RC includes the grey realms of material instructing in any crime from [painting] graffiti to politically controversial crimes such as euthanasia, and exposing these topics to public debate is vital for democracy," Google Australia's head of policy, Iarla Flynn, told The Age.