Internet Filter Could Censor Games

The ACMA may receive power to block adults from accessing online games.

---

By John Gillooly on 26 June, 2009

Senator Conroy’s spokesman said the filter would cover “computer games such as web-based flash games and downloadable games, if a complaint is received and the content is determined by ACMA to be Refused Classification”. All games that exceed MA15+ are deemed to be RC.

This quote comes from a Sydney Morning Herald article about games and the current internet filter trials. It is one of the most worrying things said so far about the internet filtering, if only because it reinforces how the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is becoming a censorship organisation by stealth.

What is worse is that the status of video game classification is still decades behind. It seems that the oft talked about discussion paper over an R18+ rating for video games has disappeared into either a political or a bureaucratic void – yet, here we see statements of the intent to let the ACMA decide what online video games can and cannot be seen.

As it stands, the Classification Board often faces a tough decision when classifying games that push the boundaries of an MA15+ rating. There is a review board process in place which is designed to provide checks and balances on this system. However, people are already worried that the ACMA has no such system, with blacklists actively kept from the public’s eyes. I guess the intent is what we don’t know won’t hurt us – but the inherent flaw in the system is that those who use the internet for REALLY nefarious means are well away from the public spotlight, and the sort of filtering that is planned.

Conroy’s spokesperson also suggests that the filter could potentially block the importation of games that have been refused classification in Australia. While the practice of ordering such games online is common, it is illegal, and while filtering software is probably the least practical way of limiting the practice, it is less of a concern than the creation of a rogue classification agency.

This whole filtering mess just keeps looking worse and worse for gamers. With ISP-level filtering already expected to slow internet speeds generally, the ACMA taking charge of deciding what games can and can’t be seen online takes things that one step too far. Even if we do eventually get an R18+ rating instigated for games, the growing importance of the online world means that the ACMA would get more and more of the censorship pie.

• Login or register to post comments

---