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Inquiry into self-regulation in the information and communications industries15 April 1998
Mr Robert J King Dear Mr King The Australian Library and Information Association welcomes your invitation to participate in the Inquiry into self-regulation in the information and communications industries being conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Information Technologies. Our Association has been a party to many of the government initiated inquiries and public forums on this matter in recent years. We represent over 8000 libraries and librarians throughout Australia. Libraries in our schools, TAFEs and universities as well as public libraries play an important role in bringing Internet access to those who cannot otherwise afford to purchase the means of access. In addition to this equity role, libraries are an important factor in developing information literacy skills in the 'brave new world' of online technology. Libraries aim to create a rich and exciting range of positive Internet experiences. This important educational role, augmented by the further development of public education such as is proposed later in this submission, is one of the important keys to making appropriate use of the Internet. Self regulatory codes of practice are but one element in ensuring that the rights of individuals are protected while a broad base of information remains accessible. Our position on content regulation has been expressed in a number of submissions and speeches and the following extracts give a useful summary: The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) favours the creation of an online code of practice and an online regulatory body which represents the interests of community, industry and government. The Association seeks to ensure that equity of access to information is not compromised in the new medium, while still being responsive to community concerns relating to the nature of the information which is accessible online. ALIA believes that, in time, technological solutions can be found for technological problems. It is the content of online services, particularly in the context of community standards and the protection of intellectual property interests, which requires immediate consideration. Existing regulatory mechanisms which apply to the distribution of current media have application to online information and the development of new media should not alter our society's fundamental commitment to freedom of information and access to a broad range of materials. Where these regulatory mechanisms have limited applicability, such as in the case of content generated beyond our national boundaries, online service providers can not be held responsible for material accessed by users. The use of the Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate. The world of online commerce is being promoted by this government during this week in a summit organised by the Minister for Communications the Information Economy and the Arts. One of the international guests is Ira Magaziner, adviser to president Clinton on the electronic economy. Magaziner estimates that US online commerce stood at $2 billion in 1996 and will reach $300 billion by 2002 [www.iia.net.au/news/971203.html]. Australia must promote the development of electronic commerce within local industry if we wish to participate in and reap some of the prospective rewards of the development of the world economy. With our famous enthusiasm for adopting technology, Australia ranks second to the USA in computer use at 27 computers per 100 people - almost twice the figure of Japan. Eighteen per cent of Australians have accessed the Internet at some time. Between June and December 1996, the percentage of Internet users who said they had shopped online rose from 1.0 to 8.8 per cent [Sydney Morning Herald, 16 September 1997]. A recent (unpublished) survey of Internet use in Australia's public libraries has demonstrated that the availability of public-access Internet terminals cannot meet the existing demand. If we wish to continue to fulfil our equity and educational role in respect of online information (and given growth predictions such as those cited above) a greater capacity to meet demand by the introduction of more resources for terminals is urgently required. Libraries have traditionally been vocal supporters of freedom to access the broadest range of information [see ALIA Statement on freedom to read]. This is seen as part of the democratic right of all citizens. A well-informed community is generally better prepared to effectively participate in public debate and contribute to public affairs. The concern of our Association is that this basic right is not eroded in the development of regulatory measures for online information. ALIA supports self-regulation through codes of conduct within a broad Government regulatory framework. This appears to be the course of action favoured by the Australian Government. Ultimately content providers and users of online information must be responsible for the information that is created and accessed. What we require in a regulatory environment is simplicity through the adoption of national and international standards. Regulatory approaches must be concerned with content which is rendered illegal under existing laws and information which should not be viewed by children. Adults should be free to access what they want, within the law. There a number of practical ways in which the library community proposes to continue its involvement in the development of appropriate mechanisms to regulate access to the Internet. The first is though ongoing participation in public debate such as those facilitated by parliamentary inquiries such as this. The second is through participation in and support of the evolution of self-regulatory mechanisms such as those currently under development by the Internet Industry Association [http://www.iia.net.au/news/code3.html] and the Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology. Codes should deal with illegal material and not attempt to interpret 'community standards'. A third area of relevance (and expertise) of the librarian relates to the organisation of information on the Internet. These skills are well recognised in the hard-copy area and most library users are familiar with the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Subject Headings which are used to identify categories of information. The use of metadata (information on information) tags is being explored though the Dublin Core Program, a meeting of which was hosted by the National Library of Australia in 1997. Senate Committee members will be familiar with moves to introduce rating and labelling systems. Rating systems can be used to determine the level of say nudity, language, sexual content or violence. The RSACi system does this on a four-level scale. Labelling systems may involve suitability ratings or just standard metadata. If the Internet is to evolve as a navigable source of information priority must be given to developing a sophisticated system of identifying the subject matter and classification of information on the 'net. Interestingly this debate emerged only a couple of weeks ago as the subject of debate on ABC Radio National's Media Report. The following extract refers: Robert Bolton: Jeremy White [editor of Australian Personal Computer Magazine] says if you want to do some serious research, throw away your mouse, push away the keyboard and get down to your local library! Fourth, filtering technologies must be acknowledged as providing (at the moment) limited controls over access to information in public organisations such as libraries. ALIA is opposed to their use in libraries which is also the position supported by the American Library Association. While a useful device in the home (and possibly in schools), these software programs are well documented as excising useful sites along with the unwanted. Filtering devices also provide the misleading impression of safety so that parents may not be as vigilant as is necessary. Experience in the USA has led some public access providers such as libraries to avoid the use of filtering technologies because of the prospect of litigation flowing from the inability of the software to guarantee that classes of information will inadvertently filter though the safety shield. It is unlikely that filtering devices can ever be successful without the availability of sophisticated and standardised information which accurately identifies category, class and origin of information. A fifth and very important role being played by libraries (in government, education, corporate and public libraries) is in the education of the user community. Our Association believes that government support is required for a broader-based program of user education which embraces children, their parents, law enforcement agencies, teachers and librarians which could be directed towards issues of particular relevance to access to the Internet by children. An excellent model for such a program is provided by the Internet Online Summit: Focus on Children which was held a few months ago in December 1997 in Washington DC. The goal of the Summit was to address 'ways to ensure that steps are taken to make the Internet online experience safe, educational and entertaining for children'. ALIA believes that children should be given positive Internet experiences, not simply denied negative ones. As part of this process (and launched at the Summit) was the development of 'Great sites' for children by the American Library Association. This site links over 700 outstanding sources of information across a broad spectrum of subject headings. It recognises that the current major deficiency of the Internet is that any trawl for information unearths some relevant and a great deal of irrelevant information. The Summit attracted representatives from over 300 organisations and included such high-profile speakers as vice-president Al Gore, attorney general Janet Reno and education secretary Richard Riley. The Australian Library and Information Association recommends that the Senate Committee support a similar program of user-education in Australia commencing with a government supported summit similar to that held in Washington last December. There are a number of ways in which user education can be advanced. These include:
ALIA supports an education program which embraces the variety of activities noted above. We believe that libraries are well-placed to provide community leadership in such a program and, in some libraries such work is already underway. But, to be broadly effective, we need to encourage the involvement of government, parents and other relevant professional groups. We hope that this submission provides valuable information for the Committee's current inquiry and look forward to the production of your final report. Yours sincerely
Virginia Walsh
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