AN Australian-first trial to filter Internet pornography will begin in Tasmania this year.
Organised by Tasmanian senator Guy Barnett, the trial is aimed at preventing children from accessing inappropriate internet material by blocking pornographic material at the ISP level.
The trial will be conducted by two companies, Sydney-based Internet Sheriff Technology and US filtering company RuleSpace.
Once the trial begins, adults wanting access to pornography will have to contact their ISP to opt out of the filtering.
The technology also will be used to filter extreme violence.
It is understood Internet Sheriff Technology has reached agreement with about 50 per cent of ISPs to participate.
Senator Barnett, announcing the trial in Launceston yesterday, said he believed every Australian had a fundamental right to access the internet free from pornography and extreme violence.
He said a 2003 survey by the Australia Institute found that 84 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls had been accidentally exposed to pornographic material on the internet, while 40 per cent of boys had deliberately used the internet to access sexually explicit material.
Senator Barnett said whereas once adults would have had to leave their home to access pornographic material, it was now coming into homes via the internet.
"The survey found that 93 per cent of parents were in favour of filtering out pornography available on the home computer, let alone those in public buildings," he said.
RuleSpace chief executive officer Alistair Allan said more than 4.2 million pornographic sites existed on the web, and the number was constantly growing.
If successful, the three-month trial could be expanded nationally, Senator Barnett said.
He said he would be advising Communications Minister Helen Coonan of the results of the trial.