Australia Wants to Peek at Your Porn, Will Search Laptops if Necessary
Australia Wants to Peek at Your Porn, Will Search Laptops if Necessary
Posted 05/21/2010 at 6:25am
| by Paul Lilly
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Traveling to Australia this summer? If so, be prepared to have your laptops and mobile phones searched for pornography, a spokeswoman for the Australian sex industry says.
According to Fiona Patten, president of the Australian Sex Party, a new question now appears on Incoming Passenger Cards asking people if they're toting around "pornography." But that isn't all - apparently Australian officials have the right to examine your electronic gadgets for illicit material.
"Is it fair that customs officers rummage through someone's luggage and pull out a legal men's magazine or a lesbian journal in front of their children or their mother-in-law?" Patten said. "If you and your partner have filmed or photographed yourselves making love in an exotic destination or even taking a bath, you will have to answer 'Yes' to the question or you will be breaking the law."
If it's any consolation, a spokesman for Australia's customs officials said officers have been been trained to use "tact and discretion" when dealing with passengers. By why search for porn in the first place?
"Including an express reference to pornography is intended to enhance the interception of prohibited pornography at the border, by making passengers aware that some forms of pornography may be a prohibited import," the spokesman said.
More here.
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tehLazyNinja
May 22, 2010 at 7:39pm
That's my thinking on this. Stash an external hard drive somewhere and use truecrypt. Would they ask you to provide a password? Would they even know what a truecrypt volume look like?
chimera15
May 28, 2010 at 8:15pm
This searching of porn idea on computers is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'll just stick a 32gb microsd card up my ass if I ever go there. roflol Unless they ass search everyone, it's useless.
Mighty BOB!
May 21, 2010 at 7:50pm
Right because the people who ARE carrying a bunch of illegal child porn are totally going to check "yes" to the "are you carrying porn" question. No they would never lie. Not ever.
chimera15
May 28, 2010 at 8:18pm
It's not child porn, it's all porn! They won't even allow consulting adult hardcore porn there.
Keith E. Whisman
May 21, 2010 at 3:52pm
Lets help the citizens of Australia. Lets fly in as much porn as possible. We can call it the great porn airlift of 2010. Those poor Ausies I wonder if they can even watch an American Rated R movie or worse yet a French Rated R movie that is really Rated X in the USA.
Keith E. Whisman
May 21, 2010 at 3:47pm
Who doesn't?
I mean you never know when your going to get stuck with no internet access for an extended period of time. That is why I always back up the good videos and pictures because I just can't take that chance.
Elric
May 21, 2010 at 1:44pm
Become a bunch of uptight little b*tches? Between this and the refusal to sell Mature games, it's making them seem not so cool anymore.
Oh well, all the hipsters store their pr0nz in the cloud anyway. Information, no matter how sexy, wants to be free.
DOAcepr
May 21, 2010 at 1:23pm
Hate to break it to you folks but every country in the world reserves the right to search your stuff as you enter their country... including the US! There is no such thing as privacy at any border. You give up that right when you try and enter that country. In this case... you Aussies out there give up the right to privacy when you decide to travel abroad.
Cruzg10
May 21, 2010 at 12:30pm
Damn, they must REALLY be that bored in the land down under. I wonder if they realize that by banning porn imports they are only making it more enticing
Keith E. Whisman
May 21, 2010 at 11:58am
Everyone here I have an Idea. It's kinda like the Bible to China thing only it's sending porn magazines and DVD's to Australia. Just mark the crates Holy Bible and cover the magazines and dvd's with two layers of the Bibles. No customs agent in the world let alone Australian Customs can stay awake looking through the first one or two bibles for contraband.
Also I wonder how many Australian Virgins joined the Sex party thinking it was there best chance of getting some.
Keith E. Whisman
May 21, 2010 at 11:53am
Damn it's sad that the so called free world is starting to turn into more of a socialist republic with complete government control over the lives of the people even more so than when the soviet union was at it's mightiest. Sex is the most basic of pleasure. When you can't do anything you can enjoy sex weather it's alone or with a partner. To allow government to control even that really is a travesty and reason to revolt from the government. When it's against the law to enjoy the nude human body that is when government has turned into a tyranny. Australia I believe it's time for your citizens to stand up to it's government and revolt. Would the Australian government risk thousands of dead citizens to keep from being ousted? Or would the government stand up and allow new elections?
And if I were to visit Australia and I was asked if I had pornography on my person I would tell them it's none of their business. They can search my laptop if they can figure out my passwords that I wont give them.
LatiosXT
May 21, 2010 at 10:09am
I remember a person's blog about his trip to North Korea. Apparently their customs sound much more relaxed than this. But then again that blog was made years ago.
Daemon
May 21, 2010 at 9:46am
Bye bye Aussie's I ain't never gona visit your shores. U will not pwn my pr0n. Stay away from my Country too while yer at it.
Biceps
May 21, 2010 at 9:28am
It is unfortunate that such a beautiful country is getting so authoritarian. 1984 is happening, Orson Wells was right... just a little early.
With real and true censorship of not only 'porn' but also political content on the internet in Australia - and the fact that they are now revoking social activists' passports to squlech opposition is sickening. Unless there is a major change, I won't be going to Australia any time soon.
It is really sad to see such a great county just walk ambivalently into authoritarianism - it is like Australians don't even miss their rights. So sad.
Keith E. Whisman
May 21, 2010 at 11:59am
A little early? It's 2010 and Orson Wells classic 1984 was set in the futuristic (To Orson Wells) 1984. And since we are on the subject I was 12 and well into puberty. I was touching it every chance I got and I knew where dad kept all his "sports" magazines. I mean I was in that bathroom for 45minutes or more two or three times a day at that age back in 1984.
Danthrax66
May 21, 2010 at 8:32am
They even block me from downloading it on the internet. As at April 2010, the Australian Federal Labor Government plans to mandate that ISPs block adults' access to Internet content on a secret blacklist, compiled by a government agency, that the Government deems unsuitable for adults, i.e. "Refused Classification" ("RC") material
http://libertus.net/censor/isp-blocking/au-govplan-refusedclassif.html
http://libertus.net/censor/netcensor.html#cc
No horse porn in Australia.
violian
May 21, 2010 at 10:57am
Wow, are you serious? I never knew Australia's government was so dictatorian.
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