Search engine majors, Google and Yahoo, have joined the league of those opposing the Australian Government’s proposals for censorship of content on the Internet. The government had announced in Nov 2009 that it was planning to monitor the web, a move that attracted heavy criticism from almost all quarters.

The Australian Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, is the mastermind behind the plan, which has been labelled ‘the great firewall of Australia‘. Conroy has already tried a procedure of censorship based on the public’s complaints. This system makes use of an independent body to ascertain which sites should be banned depending on the quantum of public outrage they have generated. A site that is deemed to be ‘Refused Classification’ (RC) will be blocked by the internet service providers (ISPs).

The whole plan has come under severe attack for infringing on the basic right to freedom of expression. Critics say the highhandedness of the government means that the moral minority will have the right to police the Internet. Many believe the filtering system takes the idea of censorship a little too far with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Inspire Foundation saying that the subjects falling under RC are too diverse for a ban to be successfully implemented.

And now Google and Yahoo have urged the Australian government to give a second thought to the controversial plan.

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