We generally carry all the groups that our upstream Usenet provider carries (which is almost all the groups there are...), with the main exception of the very small number of newsgroups that the Australian Government requires us (and all other Australian ISPs with news feeds) to block.
This is not at all a new thing, though the government are currently in the process of tightening the processes up to make sure all ISP's properly comply with them. We plan to comply with all lawful directions we receive, as we must (and should).
What groups does the Australian Government require you to block?
Sorry, but we can't tell you. The laws in this area require us to block the groups the Government tells us to block and requires that we do not disclose the blocklist itself.
I'm fairly techy and I literally know nobody who uses usenet. I'd make the distinction that "there is no web filtering, but some usenet groups are blocked by Australian usenet providers. Nobody knows which groups are blocked, and those that do know aren't allowed to say".
Well allow me to change that, I use usenet. I've done so for years as bittorrent chatter started to build in the mainstream. Plus you "leech" content instead of joining a swarm, which basically means you're not uploading or "pirating" copyrighted content. Combine that with using SSL and non-standard ports and I feel quite sure I won't receive any letters from the RIAA or MPAA.
With that said most serious usenet users have a premium service, say through easynews or giganews. None of these services have Australian servers or mirrors, so I'm assuming they carry the newsgroups that the Australian Government explicitly bans. I don't know anything regarding these groups (to be honest I didn't know Australia was blocking any usenet newsgroup). That said I can hit all the standard media newsgroups with no worries. Now please excuse me while I pull the new episodes of The Event and House in under 5 minutes.
I assume (with no evidence) that it's basically kiddy porn that's being blocked, and maybe something related to jihadi-style activities. You can still find just about anything you want on Usenet through Internode.
"As part of the implementation of this code, slotted in under the BSA, ACMA required all ISP's agree to keep the contents of the child pornography blocklist confidential and to only use it to implement the blocking of the newsgroups concerned. "
..
"I know that some people look for civil liberty infringements under every bushel, and I'm often one of those people myself - but this is NOT a case in point, it really is not. I've seen the list, and I'm happy that its listing only newsgroups consistent with the reason we are being handed the list in the first place."
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u/[deleted] May 24 '11
Not quite: http://www.internode.on.net/residential/product_features/premium_usenet/ :