The Great Australian Firewall

A proposed Internet filter dubbed the "Great Aussie Firewall" is promising to make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries.
Consumers, civil-rights activists, engineers, Internet providers and politicians from opposition parties are among the critics of a mandatory Internet filter that would block at least 1,300 Web sites prohibited by the government - mostly child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism (Associated Press, 2009).

How firewalls work

However the citizens are angry not because of the filtering, but the outcome and consequences of the filtering. Browsing speeds will be reduced tremendously as a result of the content filtering. On top of that, there problems such lack of information on the internet will surface. Internet filtering will have infringe the freedom of speech (Banks, 2006).

References
1. Associated Press, 2008, Oproar In Australia over Internet Filter, Variety Magazine, viewed 12th November 2009, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997786.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1

2. Banks, J 2006, The advantages and disadvantages of internet Filters, retrieved 17 November 2009 from http://www.familyresource.com/parenting/computers-and-technology/what-every-parent-should-know-about-using-technology