Electronic Frontiers Australia, basing its statement on the number of complaints made to Australia regulators, showed that Internet content regulation in the country had simply pushed offensive content overseas.
EFA Executive Director Irene Graham, whose group is against Internet censorship, argues that "adults should be able to view Australian content that has been produced and hosted in Australia."
"If you're allowed to view it on video, you should be able to see it on the Internet,” she said. “Australian money is going to overseas content hosts."
Australian Communications and Media Authority's 2004 second-half report revealed last week that regulators issued just one takedown notice for Australian-hosted content during the latest reporting period.
"There's a dramatic increase in the amount of foreign-hosted content," Graham said. "They can't do anything more about it than they did before, which was, if you don't like it, use a filter.”
Regulators received 598 complaints between July and December last year and identified 430 overseas-hosted prohibited items.
Content hosted overseas is either notified to the makers of filters, or if it is believed to be illegal, is referred to federal prosecutors.