Internet filtering plan may extend to peer-to-peer traffic, says Stephen Conroy
In a post on his department's blog, Senator Conroy today said technology that could filter data sent directly between computers would be tested as part of the upcoming live filtering trial.
"Technology that filters peer-to-peer and BitTorrent traffic does exist and it is anticipated that the effectiveness of this will be tested in the live pilot trial," Senator Conroy said.
What a load of rubbish.
Conroy is a dishonest, ill-qualified, technologically illiterate, offensive moron.
Peer-to-peer file-sharing technology is the most common way for computer users to share video, picture and music files over the internet.
It was previously thought the Government's filtering plan would be restricted to traffic on the "world wide web" – the channel through which users view websites like news.com.au.
Senator Conroy revealed the plan to trial peer-to-peer filtering technology in a reply to critical comments made on the Digital Economy Future Directions blog launched earlier this month.
What absolute nonsense, the latest in a continuing torrent from Conroy and colleagues.
Peer-to-peer and BitTorrent type traffic accounts for something like two thirds of total Internet traffic, IIRC.
Even if you had the technology to do it, in principle, there's no way you can deal with the sheer volume of traffic.
Even if you could examine and filter unencrypted P2P or BT traffic, which you can't, what about encrypted P2P traffic? Conroy probably doesn't even know what a prime number is. What about VPNs? What about IRC? What about newsgroups? What about email? What about FTP? SFTP? Telnet/SSH? What about something as simple as moving a zip file over an unencrypted P2P network? Can you parse even that, huh, Conroy?
NOTHING that Conroy could possibly crap on about will make any difference to issues like child porn.
But there's one thing that makes me even more angry than Conroy, and that is the downright offensive, ridiculous, appalling "you're advocating pedophilia" rhetoric dished out by these bloody idiotic "won't-somebody-please-think-of-the-children" women and their bible-bashing so-called children and "family" advocacy groups.
Internet filter protesters aim for Canberra
Chief executive of child protection group Child Wise, Bernadette McMenamin, said most of the criticisms levelled at the internet filter scheme were founded on misinformation.
"Let the 300 people march on Canberra because it looks pathetic," he said. "It looks pathetic and shameful because most of these people are not fully aware of the facts and secondly, those who are aware are, in effect, advocating child pornography."