After last week’s Federal Court win for internet service provider iiNet, the movie industry was looking to the government to help them out. But the government has told it to sort out its own problems.
Articles by Stilgherrian 
About Stilgherrian
Opinionated writer, broadcaster & consultant about digital things, based in Sydney. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
iiNet decision a slapdown for AFACT, movie industry
After yesterday’s Federal Court decision clearing iiNet of responsibility for copyright infringement by their customers, the Australian Federation Against Copyright theft is considering its next steps.
iiTrial: ISPs not responsible for users’ copyright infringement
A landmark ruling in Australia’s Federal Court today has cleared internet service provider iiNet from responsibility for its users’ illegal file sharing.
It’s called iPad, and the Kindle is rooted
2009 wasn’t just the year of the ebook reader. 2009 was the only year of the ebook reader. Goodbye Kindle, hello iPad.
Clinton declares cyber war on China
Among buckets of saccharine rhetoric linking freedom and democracy, Hillary Clinton’s speech on internet freedom is a declaration of cyber war against China.
Dump Internet Explorer? Stay alert but not alarmed
In the wake of cyber attacks on Google, media outlets are relaying recommendations from government information security agencies to stop using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. So do you really need to break up with your browser?
China isn’t our biggest hacker threat
When Google announced last week that it was targeted by a cyber attack originating from China it certainly got media attention. But transnational cyber attacks are widespread, and China isn’t necessarily Australia’s biggest problem.
Bushwalking: cross-check everything, even official advice
The death of 15-year-old Nick Delaney in the Blue Mountains is a reminder that in the bush, even with experience and preparation, things can go tragically wrong. Even official safety advice needs cross-checking.
The swift takedown of stephenconroy.com.au
Just hours after a bit of media publicity, an anti-Stephen Conroy website was pulled down by authorities. Was this a routine domain deregistration or something more sinister?
2009: the internet’s watershed year
Between the National Broadband Network, mandatory ISP filtering, and the strange and wonderful world of Twitter, 2009 was the year that the internet truly moved to the centre stage of Australian politics.
Internet filtering: first step on the path to Burma?
It’s a strange day indeed when retired Justice Michael Kirby and Fox News sing from the same hymn sheet. But Senator Stephen Conroy’s internet censorship plans have created that day.
Conroy’s internet filter: so what?
When it comes to curious kids with technically adept mates, or desperately secretive pedophiles trading their nasties, the internet filter will be nothing but a minor inconvenience.
OECD: publicly funded NBN could pay for itself
The National Broadband Network could pay for itself in just 10 years thanks to spillover savings in electricity, health, transport and education, according to a new OECD report.
Is social media killing the web as we know it?
Web traffic to every Australian news site has been trending down this year. Perhaps this is what those annoying social media experts have been predicting all along: people are passing news directly among themselves, bypassing the traditional news outlets.
Baffled by Murdersoft? Making sense of Murdoch and Microsoft
This rumoured deal between Microsoft and News Corporation is all about attention. So how would the parties benefit? Stilgherrian breaks it down.
Dear Rupert, this is how the internet works. Google it.
Rupert Murdoch may be rich, clever and influential, but his plan to remove News Corp content from Google’s index is just daft. If he wants us to read his stories, let alone pay for them, we have to be able to find them first.
Why AFACT v iiNet is important
iiNet is battling AFACT over illegal sharing of copyright films, tv and music via peer-to-peer networks, and the implications will be wide reaching. Who is responsible for the content of internet traffic?
Conroy’s internet filter dread
Senator Stephen Conroy must soon set aside the joys of taking the axe to Telstra — satisfying though that must be — and return to a topic he surely dreads: internet censorship.
Freedom (or freebies) of the press takes another meaning
There was once a time when photographers were sent to cover major events, like today’s Sydney dust storms. These days, free pictures are harvested from the internet.
Crikey Clarifier: What caused Sydney CBD’s Telstra outage
Thousands of businesses and homes in the northeast of Sydney’s CBD spent a day or more without telephones and the internet yesterday. What happened? And what can you do if it happens to you?
Telstra split: good or bad idea?
Online reaction to Telstra’s not-quite-forced “structural separation” is split. Telstra shareholders are angry. Everyone else is quietly jubilant — especially Telstra’s key competitors.
Telstra has to morph into a different kind of beast
The Rudd government’s legislation is the stark choice being offered Telstra: split your wholesale and retail operations or you don’t get any more wireless spectrum.
ACMA iTunes and the failure of net filtering
The underlying Australian internet censorship process is unworkable, and always will be. Opponents of the filter are busy proving it, with complaints about iTunes selling MA15+ films without requiring age verification.
The serious risk of cyber-grooming. Or not.
A new report from broadband minister Senator Conroy has declared “cyber-grooming and sexual solicitation are potentially the most serious cyber-safety risks.” Expect more tabloid-style stories to blur the facts and exaggerate that “potential” risk.
PM’s website hacked? No, just script kiddies
The overblown mainstream media claims over the “hack” on Kevin Rudd’s website mask a more prosaic truth, that actually it was just unavailable for a few minutes.
