Australia Wants to Outlaw Posting Violent Images on Internet
Australia Wants to Outlaw Posting Violent Images on Internet
Posted 03/17/2011 at 11:40am
| by Paul Lilly
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The South Australian government is introducing legislation that would make it illegal to post violent or degrading images on the Internet, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald. Having seen so many similar outcries before -- though usually associated with violent videogames -- you would think that Australia's jumping on the bandwagon that such images might turn today's youth into walking clones of in-game bad guys, but that's not the reason Australia is proposing such a drastic measure.
Australian Attorney-General John Rau says the legislation is aimed at thugs who record violent content specifically to post online. Such was the case when a recent viral video on YouTube depicted an Australian student being bullied and violently tossed to the ground.
"The government wants to attack this disgusting fad of thugs engineering and filming violent and humiliating acts and posting the images to websites," Rau said. "This behavior is so disturbing and potentially damaging to the victims that I believe the creators of these images should be subject to severe penalties, including jail sentences."
According to Rau, the law would also extend to anyone who knowingly allows someone to use their computer or phone to upload such images.
"If you knowingly participate in someone's humiliation while someone else films it, you could also find yourself charged with a serious offense," Rau added.
Naturally the proposed legislation is being met with opposition, and specifically over how it would be policed.
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Nimrod
March 18, 2011 at 6:05pm
This is soooooooooooooooooooooooo stupid. The said kid in the vido deserved to get his ass kicked and he should have gotten a much tougher ass kicking. The land down under is in such shity condition. It basicaly the East Bloc now but with more shit to byte you.
mesiah
March 17, 2011 at 6:48pm
It's amazing how fast a Colony full of criminals became a country full of pussies.
Tenhawk
March 17, 2011 at 4:35pm
Uh... wait...
So it's ok to BE violent and humiliate people, just as long as you don't post it on the net?
I mean, couldn't they just... you know, make the actual ACTS illegal?
Oh, no, of course not. Because then it would stop there. They obviously want to use this law to leverage OTHER kinds of postings into outlaw status and need their foot in the damn door. Seriously, they have VIDEOS of people commiting acts of violence, and they need to make it illegal to post them on the internet in order to make a case stick?
Isn't that like saying, hey beat the dude up if you want, just wait until my back is turned though, ok?
Five Rabbits
March 17, 2011 at 1:36pm
Accept the video wasn't posted by one of the bullies, it was posted by the father of a friend of the victim. If it hadn't been posted this would have just gotten swept under the rug like 99% of bullying, ignored by the teachers, school, parents and police. But hey that's okay because self-righteous politician #643 has decided knowing what actually goes on in our schools, work places etc is too shocking for the public to know. Keep your heads buried in the sand, nothing to see here move along little sheep.
As someone pointed out there should be already be laws for committing violent crimes or engineering them for entertainment or other purposes. All this serves to do is punish those who seek to bring awareness to problems nobody is paying attention to. Even worse "Mr Rau said the onus would be on the person charged to prove that they had a legitimate purpose for capturing the images, other than humiliating, degrading or demeaning the victim." Nothing like guilty until proven innocent. I wouldn't wish this on Australians, and I certainly wouldn't want to see it here in the states.
haboh
March 17, 2011 at 12:48pm
wait. If they can arrest them for posting it, that means they can find them. If what they did, and filmed was illigal they can then be arrested for that. If what they did isn't illigal (only the posting) then that seems like a strange law. So is this just another law against something that's already illigal, but isn't enforced?
og_greek
March 17, 2011 at 12:22pm
It was actually the bully that was violently tossed to the ground.
Caboose
March 18, 2011 at 7:52am
That video, TBH, was fucking AWESOME!
As someone who was bullied in elementary and part of high-school, and having to resort to violence to get it to stop, there are some cases where it is justified. And the guy in the video was ever so justified in what he did. I very much commend him on his restraint. He could have easily put a boot to the bully's head, but he didn't. And the fact that the bully was so dazed and out of sorts afterwords just made it all the more better. He finally got what was coming to him.
I myself have been in a similar situation, but it was a 1 on 1 type of incident. I didn't drop the guy to the ground, I did however slam him in to a school locker, and used just enough pressure on his neck to make him uncomfortable. Spoke in a hushed but very firm tone informing him that should the bullying continue, the consequences will be much worse. I wasn't bullied after that.
Ghok
March 17, 2011 at 12:21pm
What about something like the Rodney King beating? Or what's happening in Libya? Would this effect those kinds of videos?
There are good intentions behind this, and I'm all for in favour of what they're trying to do. It should be a serious offense to victimize someone by posting videos related to them on the internet. I'm a big perponent of personal privacy, and think this is a great idea. I'd just like a little clarity first.
Angelman0401
March 18, 2011 at 7:24am
Agreed. I'm sure that there will be specific parameters to what would be illegal to upload. Maybe intent would be one of the biggest. For example, videotaping with the intent to capture the criminals as opposed to videotaping a crime because you think it's "cool".
Danthrax66
March 17, 2011 at 8:27pm
ALL CENSORSHIP IS BAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO WATCH SOMETHING DON'T IT'S CALLED SELF CONTROL. ALLOWING ANYONE TO TELL YOU WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR EYES IS BAD AND A MOVE TOWARD FACISM.
Angelman0401
March 18, 2011 at 7:18am
Nope not sarcasm. If you're perverted enough to want to watch someone getting beat up, humiliated, or worse then I understand why you would think it was sarcasm. Many of those who are recording these terribles acts are motivated by the fact that they are being watched and feel a sense of fame from it that then motivates them to worse. This measure would not eliminate these sort of crimes but at least they would be reduced since now the "thrill" of being seen by your peers doing stupid things would be gone. How about if I come masked to your house, beat the hell out of you, rape your mom, sister, daughter, wreck your house and then make you watch as I beat your family up some more. You want that on the internet? Are you saying that if such a horrible video was uploaded to the internet that you would want me to be caught but would defend my right to upload it to the world and then lobby for it to stay up? I don't think so. Nobody would ever want something that horrifying to happen. I pray for the souls of those who think that this is in anyway acceptable.
compro01
March 19, 2011 at 6:30pm
Here's another example:
How about if a uniformed police officer beat the hell out of you, raped your mom, sister, daughter, wrecked your car and then make you watch as I beat your family up some more?
Would you want that on the internet to get wide exposure so said shitbag can be identified, fired, charged, and sent to prison for life+forever?
This law would make uploading that just as illegal.
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