ABC Q And A banned video response

Back in May I submitted a video to the ABCs Q and A program via their website. It was exploring ways to avoid Government net censorship. They published it, then removed it. Here was the email I wrote to the ABC at the time asking for an explanation. The video in question is at the end of this email so don’t click away!
From: Jim Stewart
Sent: Thursday, 27 May 2010 4:59 PM
To: ABC Board
Subject: Q And A Video submission censored on /qanda site.

I had a video approved for the site after being live for over a week with over 100 views it was removed from public view. I was told by Anna, who is the web producer that it was taken down because another user of the site said it told people how to acquire porn. She said she had no option but to take it down whilst it was reviewed by an executive producer. I have since emailed Anna but had no response.

Here is the video in question http://jimboot.com/fun-with-the-filter it makes a mockery of the proposed mandatory Internet filter by showing how simple it will be to circumvent. Senator Conroy has stated it will not be illegal to circumvent nor teach others how to circumvent it. Certainly there are a lot easier ways to acquire porn. If the ABC will not reinstate the video I would respectfully like to know why. This issue to me is about censorship. The video has already had 4 times the views (Australians) on Youtube than what it had on the ABC site.

Kaiser Kuo sat on the panel of Q And A and explained the Chinese filter does not affect him because he circumvents it when he returns to China. No one followed up on this. This is fundamental. These filters are extremely easy to bypass. I think it’s important that Australians understand that both sides of politics are trying to pull the wool over their eyes with this topic. I’d appreciate an official response as to why my video has been censored thank you.

The video in question.

Dear Mr Stewart

Thank you for your email regarding a video you submitted for publication on the Q & A website. I am sorry for the delay in responding to you.

I understand you believe the removal of this video constituted censorship. In accordance with the ABC’s complaints process, your concerns have been investigated by Audience & Consumer Affairs, a unit which is separate to and independent of program making areas within the ABC.

I should explain that videos uploaded to the Q & A website are subject to removal if they do not adhere to the ABC Online Conditions of Use (http://abc.net.au/conditions.htm) or the Q & A website’s Terms of Service (http://qanda.abc.net.au/service/displayTOS.kickAction). However, section 9.4.12 of the ABC’s Editorial Policies states as follows: “Mindful of its duty to maintain its independence and integrity, the ABC will be open to the spectrum of views and give users a fair opportunity to participate”. In light of your concerns, Audience & Consumer Affairs has assessed the treatment of your video against this editorial standard.

The producers of Q & A have advised that your video was not removed because it told people how to acquire pornography, but rather, because of the inclusion of offensive language in a screenshot shown approximately 35 seconds into the video. I understand the video was removed in accordance with section 4.4 of the Conditions of Use.

I note that you were permitted to submit the video and it was published until such time that it was found to be in breach of the Conditions of Use. I understand you are free to submit another version of the video for consideration, and your participation on the Q & A website has not been suspended or restricted. Having regard to these circumstances, Audience & Consumer Affairs considers that you have been given a fair opportunity to participate and the requirements of section 9.4.12 of the Editorial Policies have been met.

Nonetheless, please be assured that your comments have been noted and conveyed to the producers of Q & A so that they are aware of your feedback and concerns. Thank you for taking the time to write. For your reference, the Editorial Policies are available in full here: http://abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm

Yours sincerely

Kirstin McLiesh

Head, Audience & Consumer Affairs

I don’t have an issue with that, except the explanation is different to what Anna told me. It’s their site. They get to choose what is published and what isn’t. No problem. Is it censorship? Well I guess in the strictest definition of the term it is. However if people want to see the video that much, they can easily view it on YouTube. 8 times more people have seen it on YouTube than ever saw it on abc.net.au . The point is the ABC got to choose what it did & didn’t, want to display to its online community. For a lot of Australians the ABC is probably one of their few trusted sites. So they need to be thinking of their audience.If their audience is going to be offended by something, block it. Personally I didn’t think it was that offensive but you be the judge.

However the folly when looking at he issue from a purely censorship perspective, is that if the content is blocked in one arena, it will be published in another. At another URL, torrent tracker, IRC rooom, USENET Group, email, SMS, whatever.. That is the point I was trying to make in this video

The ONLY way to make a ISP level mandatory filter work as advertised, is to destroy the net as we know it. If you vote ALP at the next election you give the Government the power to switch off, Facebook, Twitter & Google. Of course they’ll say we’re preposterous for suggesting such a thing but how would your life change? They’ve never had this power before and they never should. It’s a very dangerous precedent. Let it not be said we did nothing.

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