Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has reacted to the defacing of two Facebook tribute pages by considering the introduction of an Internet Ombudsman in Australia.
“We just see the colliding of the two worlds here, abuse and graphic material online, and businesses legitimately concerned about using the Internet properly,” Rudd said.
“We need to do everything we can to combat cyber crime. The role of cyber crime and internet bullying on children is, frankly, frightening, and we need to be deploying all practical measures.
“If I was a mum or a dad out there today with little kids, given some of the awful events we’ve seen in recent days, I’d be legitimately concerned. So there’s some more stuff to do here,” he said.
“And this is where we get into this really stupid debate with what I’d describe as extreme civil libertarianism, which says any such move in that direction means the imposition of Soviet Communism a la 1980,” Rudd said.
The Courier Mail talked with Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnson who believed the dark world of child pornography online would continue unless international laws were established to crack down on the trade.
“And as long as we focus on federal laws we are doing nothing to protect children in places like Thailand and the Philippines. Not only that – we need serious sentences attached to these agreements, otherwise there is no deterrent.”
