Just when you thought the censorship situation in Australia couldn't get any worse, it goes and does - in spectacular fashion. News out today suggests that the Federal Government will use the impending internet censorship regime to also block websites that host or sell video games that have not been considered appropriate for Australian audiences.

That means, given our current legislation and lack of an R18+ adult rating, if a game is inappropriate for a 15 year old, it's unsuitable for release in this country. This law, which makes us the only developed country without such a classification, has previously only applied to local gaming emporiums selling physical copies of the game, but it seems a spokesperson for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has come out and explained that under the new plans, the ban will extend to sites which sell physical or downloadable copies of the games, free downloadable titles and even flash-based web releases, if they have not been appropriately classified in this country.


Both GTA IV and NecroVisioN were edited prior to release in Australia
So - if you were planning on clicking over to your preferred online retailer to grab an un-edited international copy of Grand Theft Auto IV for example, you'll find yourself staring at a blank page. Technically, if you wanted to download any game from Steam, you could also end up with nothing, as the online retailer sells games that are still considered to be Refused Classification in Australia.

Colin Jacobs is with Electronic Frontiers Australia, an online users' lobby group, and explains that the Government is overstepping the mark, with this new decision having very little to do with its cyber-safety mandate.

"This is confirmation that the scope of the mandatory censorship scheme will keep on creeping. Far from being the ultimate weapon against child abuse, it now will officially censor content deemed too controversial for a 15-year-old. In a free country like ours, do we really need the government to step in and save us from racy web games?"

We don't understand it either.

You can hold off the dogs for just a moment, however - with Senator Conroy's spokesman explaining that web-based games and downloadable games are only covered under the new plans "if a complaint is received and the content is determined by ACMA to be Refused Classification".

But even so, gamers may not be the only victims. Online-only games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life may also suffer from these new restrictions - on the surface at least - as these games are still apparently not classified in Australia due to the lack of an offline mode. This means that if a complaint is received about inappropriate content, they would be easily blocked too, much like flash games. Who knows how many voices it would take to get WoW on the ban list?

There are nine Australian ISPs currently trialling the "Clean Feed" censorship plan, with results of the trial due next month. It is unclear at this stage whether games are currently being blocked for these ISPs, or if this is a future measure to be implemented if the proposed regime is formally applied later.

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Thanks to Jeatalong and others for letting us know about this!
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The original article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.