The eSafety Commissioner has issued a direction to Australia’s biggest internet service providers ordering them to continue to block access to websites that still host the video of last March’s Christchurch terrorist attacks.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher said that keeping Australians safe from such horrific content was a key priority.
“Australian internet service providers (ISPs) acted quickly and responsibly in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Christchurch in March this year to block websites that were hosting this harmful material,” Mr Fletcher said.
He said the eSafety Commissioner had consulted with the specific website administrators, providing them with the opportunity to remove the content.
He said most had complied and the eight remaining offending websites would be subject to the blocking directive.
“We cannot allow this type of horrific material to be used to incite further violence or terrorist acts,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Website blocking is not a universal solution to online harms, but it is important that this option be available to the eSafety Commissioner in extreme cases such as this.”
The Commissioner’s direction requires ISPs to implement a six-month block, during which time the she will review and remove sites from the list as and when the offending content had been appropriately taken down.
“The eSafety Commissioner is working with industry to develop an additional protocol to govern the rapid removal of terrorist and extreme violent material in a crisis event,” Mr Fletcher said.
