On ABC1 this evening both Four Corners and Q&A will focus on the Australian Government’s policy to introduce mandatory ISP-level Internet filtering.

On Four Corners, reporter Quentin McDermott will examine the filter in a story called “Access Denied”:

A story that reveals how an apparently well meaning attempt by government to protect children from video nasties on the net turned into a policy that critics say promotes censorship and reduces personal freedom.

Twenty one years after the world-wide web was born it’s hard to know how we’d live without it. But for all its benefits there are dangers too, especially for children. Child pornography, bestiality and other forms of extreme and illegal sexual material are freely available for anyone to view. Central to the Federal Government’s policy on cyber safety is the introduction of a mandatory filtering system, aimed at protecting children from the worst excesses in cyber space. Now reporter Quentin McDermott looks at the potential impact of the Government’s plan.

Following Four Corners, the panel on Q&A will look at the future of the Internet.  The panel this week is Brendan O’Connor (Minister for Home Affairs), Sophie Mirabella (Shadow Minister for Innovation), Kaiser Kuo (Beijing-based internet consultant), Brett Solomon (Internet activist), and Helen Razer (broadcaster and commentator).  If you want to ask a question about the Internet filter, you can do so here.