The Australian government has been accused of attempting to change freedom of information legislation to cover up the fact that its internet censorship laws have failed.

Pressure group Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) claims proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act would make it impossible to track the government's censorship activities.

It also claims ministers would be able to censor documents on the activities of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, which has the power to order that web sites be taken down. An EFA spokesman added that new laws would enable the ABA to censor any document simply by writing an URL on it.

The pressure group has long argued that any web content banned by the Australian government is simply re-hosted overseas, making legislation unworkable.

Meanwhile, the Australian government has come under fire from legal experts over its failure to disclose proposed amendments to its ASIO bill, withdrawn from parliament in June due to overwhelming opposition. The bill - a response to September 11 - was described as "the sort of law you'd expect to see in Pinochet's Chile" by University of New South Wales legal expert George Williams.

Ministers plan to re-introduce the bill in parliament later this year.

Sources:
www.ZDNet.com.au
The Sydney Morning Herald.

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