Our good friends from downunder have been testing out a new internet filter at the ISP level. The initial concerns with the filter were that there would be a massive slow down in the speed and performance of services – possibly 75% reduction in speed.

Well tests have been underway at some of the major Australian ISPs and they have not reported any loss in speed. The filter they are testing will block web sites that the government considers unacceptable. This is a pretty scary move and once the limitations on freedom start, they never stop.

While there may be no slowdown in speed, let’s hope the Aussies are smart enough to not adopt this strategy. Because when the government decides what websites we can look at, then there is not much hope left.

With any such filtering, the right idea might be there, but I can guarantee that thousands of legitimate sites will end up being blocked, either intentionally or accidentally.