[-empyre-] Maria Miranda: Resolution for Digital Futures

[Renate Ferro]

Digital New Year's Resolution:
Currently the Australian government is 
considering some stultifying if not downright 
terrifying changes for Australian Internet users. 
These changes are referred to as "clean-feed 
internet" and will force ISPs to censor the 
internet for all Australians. What this will mean 
is - and I quote:
1. Filtering will be mandatory in all homes and schools across the country.
2. The clean feed will censor material that is 
'harmful and inapproriate' for children.
3. The filter will require a massive expansion of 
the ACMA's (The Australian Communications and 
Media Authority) blacklist of prohibited content.
4. The Government want to use dynamic filters of 
questionable accuracy that slow the internet down 
by an average of 30%.

This is a short but horrible list of some of the changes proposedŠ

So my digital resolution and/or hope for the new 
year would be that either the Australian 
government comes to its senses. Unlikely. That 
the local and global networks can work their 
magic through political pressure, international 
outrage and somehow stop this crazy action.
<http://nocleanfeed.com/>http://nocleanfeed.com/


Bio:  Maria Miranda (Australia) works in 
collaboration with Norie Neumark on media 
projects - we call our collaboration Out-of-sync. 
We've been working together for over 15 years, 
and have made work across media from radio plays 
to CDROM to networked installation. Currently I 
am completing a PhD in Media Studies at Macquarie 
University Sydney researching uncertain practices 
and unsitely aesthetics in media art, including 
artists' use of the Internet as one site of their 
work.


-- 
Renate Ferro and Tim Murray
Co-Moderators, -empyre- a soft-skinned-space
Department of Art/ Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art
Cornell University