Perhaps the most hope-inspiring development in the Internet censorship debate of late is the complete and utter failure of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy to effectively implement their plans. The targeted start date of Senator Conroy’s much-touted trial — unrealistic though it may have been — has come and gone without the start of any such trial, and there is still no word from the DBCDE about a more feasible timeline. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that even iiNet, one of the largest ISPs known to have offered to take part in the trial, has only been responded to with “deafening silence”.
Of course, while it’s amusing that they’re proving completely incapable of advancing their Internet censorhip plan, it’s disturbing to remember that this same department is in charge of overseeing the rollout of the the National Broadband Network. One has to wonder, if they can’t coordinate a trial with ISPs, can they really handle a major nation-wide communications infrastructure upgrade?
