Anonymous to take Protesting Into Physical World
When Anonymous first targeted the Australian Government over proposed Internet censorship, there wasn't much of a result, but the second round of attacks had more effect recently, successfully using dDoS attacks to target and temporarily disable several federal government websites. This weekend, the protests will enter the physical world, with various protests being planned for February 20 around Australia, and with calls for similar protests at Australian embassies across the globe.
With the generally apathetic viewpoint that many Australians take to the issues being protested, the protests may not attract many people, and are bound to attract only minor press attention, if only for the name of the protest (Operation Titstorm). With a federal election due this year it is unlikely that any real progress will be seen on loosening the noose that is being slowly applied to Australian internet access. Both major parties were supporters of the idea of Internet filtering before the last election, and both continue to support the idea in the lead up to this election.
There is some hope for people opposed to the current forms of media classification and censorship in Australia, with South Australia also set to hold an election this year. The South Australian Attorney General is seen as the reason why games do not have an R or equivalent rating, instead being capped at MA15+. This has meant some games are either refused classification (RC) or not even offered for sale in Australia, limiting the opportunity for a maturing population of Australian gamers to access these titles legally.
Game retailers have begun an awareness campaign, alongside a number of community based drives, to make the public aware of this situation and there are a growing number of people who find this situation unwanted.
On and offline protests by Anonymous and a growing number of publicly dissatisfied Australian gamers may not be enough to see any real changes enacted with the coming state and federal elections in Australia, but they are a starting point for greater future awareness. If recent history in Europe is any indicator, there may be a couple of surprises from political groups focussed on keeping as much freedom in the Internet as possible. It probably won't directly affect the major parties strength in parliament, but their presence on the ballots will at least force the major parties to consider the arguments being made by the new groups.
16 February 2010
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