Web-Site Blocking Legislation Requires Precision

Sydney, 26 March 2015 - The telecommunications industry is examining the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 and will assist Government and Parliamentary committee members to refine the legislation, Communications Alliance said today.

John Stanton, CEO of Communications Alliance said that industry was not consulted on the drafting of the Bill, so is now examining it for the first time.

“We intend to contribute to the consideration of the legislation by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs,” Mr Stanton said.

“We have given conditional support for this initiative but have cautioned that web-site blocking is a relatively blunt tool, with risks of ‘collateral damage’ if not applied with precision.

“The Bill should, for example, ensure that “online location” is precisely defined, to reduce the risk that web-sites may be unintentionally impacted when multiple websites reside under a single IP address or domain,” Mr Stanton said.

“The Government should also ensure that through the legislation or Court rules ISPs are indemnified by rights holders against any actions they take to comply with a site-blocking injunction.

“We note that the Government anticipates another cost impost on internet service providers (ISPs) as a result of the legislation. We are yet to see the detail of this estimare but believe that additional cost for ISPs assisting the fight against copyright infringement should be avoided.” 

 

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE

Communications Alliance is the primary telecommunications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, search engines, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.

Its vision is to provide a unified voice for the telecommunications industry and to lead it into the next generation of converging networks, technologies and services. The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to promote the growth of the Australian communications industry and the protection of consumer interests by fostering the highest standards of business ethics and behaviour through industry self-governance. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.

Media information contact:

Kreab
Lucy Chamberlain lchamberlain@kreab.com 0402 106 613