blacklisting slash sites in Australia?

[mickeym]

Will New Law Block Many Slash, Anime, Manga Sites in Australia?

Excerpt from the article:

Let's take as another example, 'Wincest', that is, imagined sexual scenarios between the two Winchester brothers in the hit TV show Supernatural. 'Wincest slash' turns up 109,000 Google hits - a lot to filter out. But surely Wincest is OK because the brothers are adults? Not so, because under the existing classification system 'incest fantasies' are refused classification. Hence, although it is not currently illegal to read Wincest in Australia, since incest merits an RC category, Wincest is eligible to be placed on the blacklist to be filtered out. Again, I would be interested to see research into the Wincest fandom that could establish links between these fantasy narratives and the increase of actual incestual relations among the fandom.

But maybe these concerns are just a storm in a tea cup? After all, the proposed filter blacklist is to be compiled on a complaints-based system. The government is not proposing to recruit an army of censors to track this stuff down (and given the scale it would require an army) but has instead entrusted the Australian Media and Communication Authority (ACMA) to investigate and make referrals to the list on the basis of complaints. Surely no-one in their right mind would waste ACMA's time referring BL stories of boys bonking or Sam and Dean Winchester getting it on to ACMA?

Just passing along the information.

Comments

[fpvs.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. But though this is what I would label as total BS, I hate, more so, that the CENSORSHIP would blacklist many other things such as information about euthanasia while pushing paedophiles DEEPER underground, making them harder to find. Given I know how easy it is to download TV shows, etc. I can easily imagine that it's just as easy for child pornography and other despicable things will go on.

I'll be at the marches in Melbourne.

[nopseud]

Surely no-one in their right mind would waste ACMA's time referring BL stories of boys bonking or Sam and Dean Winchester getting it on to ACMA?

That's either sarcasm, or someone who has never interacted with actual fandom.

[vickita.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the same thing. "That's very optimistic of them."

[msktrnanny.livejournal.com]

That's either sarcasm, or someone who has never interacted with actual fandom.

Or a self proclaimed 'real Christian', 'concerned parent', 'conscientious neighbor'.....

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

That was my first thought, too - remembering the whole LJ kerfluffle a few years back.

BTW, the "concerned parents" have already started in on Dreamwidth; they've had to drop Paypal.

[msktrnanny.livejournal.com]

I wasn't even thinking of stuff on LJ, just people in life, but yes.

Really? How did somebody connect Paypal to the potentially long list of things they find possibly offensive?

[anyone625.livejournal.com]

The fake 'concerned parents' told Paypal DW was harboring child porn. Payal demanded a change in DW policy, and DW had promised subscribers not to do that so had to drop Paypal.

http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16590.html?format=light

[msktrnanny.livejournal.com]

Oh good grief. People will just poke every fire until one flares up, won't they?

[kitanabychoice.livejournal.com]

That presents the very slippery slope argument that your sexuality/turn-ons are a direct extension of your intentions. I read incest, I must want to be incestuous (even though I have no siblings)! I read hurt/comfort, I must want to be raped! Continue ad nauseum.

I get tired of having mostly innocent things censored in the name of "goodness". What those people, the ones doing the censoring, don't realize is that censorship doesn't make anything go away. People should learn from our mistakes about alcohol prohibition. I think it's the same thing.

[aislinn-tredor.livejournal.com]

Making something forbidden just makes people want it more.

I have many problems with censorship.

[runedgirl.livejournal.com]

I suppose we'll have to police the big bookstores next then, since omg people write fiction (and sell it and make money from it!) about all *kinds* of fictional things that they fictionally write about but don't do or want to do or even think about doing in reality because oh yeah, that's the point of *fiction*. My head hurts now. *clings to you*

[surevesta.livejournal.com]

:( I read wincest... but it's the only incest pairing I've every (intentionally) read.

I feel sorry for the Australians in fandom... I hope this doesn't go through :(