In an amazingly anti-free speech move, the office of the Australian Prime Minister has moved to close down a satirical website.
The John Howard website (formerly at http://johnhowardpm.org) includes a satirical “sorry speech” from the PM apologising for the Iraq War (Australia was one of only two counrties to send troops for the initial invasion).
The site which is owned and maintained by social commentator Richard Neville, was regsitered with domain name registrar, Melbourne IT and was shut after the company was contacted by the Prime Minister’s office who cited copyright concerns as their reasons for making the complaint.
Despite the fact that Neville claims the site was made to look similar to the official website of the Prime Minister, but not exactly the same, the nature of the complaint raises several interesting issues, not least of which is the question of political censorship in a functioning democracy.
The arbiter of the claimed copyright violation in this case appears to be Melbourne IT. A certain level of intimidation can simply be assumed when an office (possibly the most important one in the country) full of bureaucrats with law degrees calls your company making threats, despite the company’s spurious claims that it acted on its own judgement and that the site in question looked like a “phishing site.”
While the comedian in question may have indeed infringed copyright by copying the “look” of the real Prime Minister’s website, it’s reasonable to assume that more than just strict adherence to copyright issues was on the agenda of the PM’s office when they made the complaint.
The saga can now be followed at the comedian’s personal website - http://richardneville.com
Technorati Tags: John Howard, censorship, Australia
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