Yesterday, Senator Conroy made statements in a Senates Estimates hearing suggesting that filtering could be implemented with a voluntary industry code. To explain what he (probably) meant, I have set out how filtering is governed by a voluntary industry code today, how this can be changed to make filtering mandatory, and what exactly is ‘voluntary’ about this industry code.

After it came out that the Classification Board had classified the infamous AbortionTV page R 18+, a number of people have suggested that you could link to the page if you made the link subject to a restricted access system. But restricted access systems in relation to R 18+ require proof of age and, in any event, must apply to the content itself and not to the link to the content.

After ACMA threatened Whirlpool’s host with an $11,000 per day fine if it failed to remove a link to a blacklisted anti-abortion website, some people expressed concern that they’d receive surprise fines. To explain why this isn’t the case, I provide a detailed look at the regulation of Australian-hosted prohibited content.