Schedule 5 and Schedule 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth)

The current co-regulatory scheme established under Schedules 5 and 7 is extremely important because it promotes the idea that both government and industry have a responsibility to make sure that illegal or offensive material online is controlled. As a result, it has become essential for the industry to take responsibility in ensuring that there is more classification of content and development of classification codes. This is especially considering that there is need for the industry to promote the maintenance of the relative independence of action that it has been granted through actively seeking to bring about a level of moderation in the content that it transmits to the Australian public. The classification of content and development of classification codes is therefore an important step that can be taken by the industry because it allows for greater self-regulation as well as actions which are able to bring about a significant level of public protection from offensive material. Such an action would also be important in the achievement of transparency within the industry because it would allow it to cooperate with government in promoting the public interest while at the same time safeguarding itself from potential problems that might end up having a negative effect on its activities. It is through the active participation of industry in classification of content that the intended purpose of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999 to strike a balance between the interests of industry and those of the wider Australian community will be achieved without any serious friction with government regulatory bodies or need for further legislative action to regulate the industry.

One of the most significant aspects of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999 is that it seeks to block illegal and offensive material from overseas. The need to do so, while extremely important, is a task that can be considered to be difficult especially considering that for the most part, government would have to strike a balance between ensuring the freedoms of the internet and the need to protect its citizens. However, the industry can be considered to be more capable of self-censorship especially through the requirement that it ensures more classification. The major fear of such a situation is that the industry, despite its best intentions, might not be able to achieve a high level of self-censorship that would significantly prevent illegal material from reaching the Australian community. The result is that there is need to promote the advancement of legislation to enforce the industry’s role in promoting classification as a means of promoting the interests of all Australians. Without legislative pressure, it is likely that the industry will not have the incentive needed to bring about the development of faster, better, and cheaper ways of achieving the outcomes that are desired by the government for the purpose of protecting its citizens. The industry has to make sure that it creates classifications that advances the interests of citizens by enabling them to take control over the standards of content that they wish to accept in their media because that it one of the most important ways through which it will be able to bring about a level of censorship of offensive material.

Despite the need for the government to have a role in regulation through the implementation of legislation, the industry has a greater role to play. This is especially considering that the government only has jurisdiction over content that is made and distributed within Australia and has limited control over overseas content; which is often the majority of what is consumed locally. Therefore, industry has a crucial role to play in classification because it is the both a service provider as well as a beneficiary of the content that is transmitted. Moreover, it is only through the direct involvement of industry in both classification and coding that it becomes possible to ensure that there is a level of cooperation with government in securing the interests of citizens while at the same time advancing its own interests. Through the co-regulatory scheme, the industry has become an essential player in regulation and because it has greater access to content than the government, it is better placed to promote safe content to citizens. This is especially considering that through working with government, the industry will be able to create desired classifications which will enable content diversity while at the same time bringing about a high level of control over illegal content.