🚀 go-pugleaf

()            >>> URGENT! Support the STOP! Campaign <<<             ()
/\  *** Don't let the government ruin the Internet in Australia ***  /\


            ^^^ PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY UNTIL JULY 11 ^^^


Dear Australian Internet user,

The future of your Internet access hangs in the balance!

On July 11, Attorneys-General from every state will consider censorship
laws which will seriously damage online environments in Australia. The
laws, proposed by the NSW government for NATIONAL use, are similar to
the Communications Decency Act in the USA, and would seriously affect
your online freedom and your right to privacy.

For example, your Internet provider would have to read your email and
it would become illegal to access films on the Internet which are shown
in the everyday cinema, or books which are freely available in your
community library.

In trying to stop criminal acts on the Internet, our politicians
threaten to ruin the Internet for the rest of us, because they are
ignorant of the way it works.

The STOP! Campaign is actively opposing the proposed laws and
attempting to educate the politicians involved. It's important to make
a big impact on the Attorneys-General before they meet.

But we really NEED YOUR HELP and there are only a few days left!

We must make our government understand the nature of the
Internet and the impossibility of Australian legislation controlling
information available on a world-wide network. It is clear that the
authors of the draft legislation are not familiar with how the Internet
works.

The EFA led Stop! Campaign supports the encouragement of responsible
adult and parental controls to protect children on the Internet.  Using
filtering through software and third party rating schemes such as PICS,
they can more effectively achieve that end and leave the Internet free
of unworkable and largely unenforcable legislation.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We are asking you to contact your state Attorney-General's office NOW,
to tell them you do not support the NSW model for regulation. Please
encourage others to do the same.  Contact details are available from
the STOP! campaign Web site which is at:

  http://www.efa.org.au/Campaigns/stop.html

You may wish to use the STOP! campaign's sample protest letter at:

  http://www.efa.org.au/Campaigns/proforma.html

We are asking you to tell your friends what is going on, forward this
email to them, and point them in the direction of the STOP! campaign
Web site.  Details on other things you can do to help such as how to
join our mailing lists are also available from the STOP! Campaign web
site.

THANK YOU

The STOP! campaign appreciates your support. If we work together, we
can get results, and give Australia a continued chance to be a world
leader on the Internet of the future.

The July 11 meeting of Attorney-Generals is fast approaching - we must
act quickly.

Thank you and good luck,
The STOP! Campaign committee