In its current form the bill is absurd, because it covers such ephemera as newsgroup postings and gives the administrator no chance to remove material before it is condemned and the fine is levied. Around the beginning of 2000, the national government passed a similar law that extends a strict moral code from films and television to the Internet. The law was protested by Electronic Frontiers Australia and others, going so far as street demonstrations that drew hundreds of people. Protests initiated by CPSR include one to French ministers and to the German government when they arrested Internet Access Providers and tried to make them police newsgroups. One unusual development is the attempt of a British government agency to suppress one of its own reports, called the JET Report , about the mishandling of accusations regarding Satanic rituals.
Censorship is practiced by other forces besides governments.
Blocking or filtering software, which comes in many forms and boasts a standard called PICS , may filter out sites one would not expect. One zealous filtering product got into a tangle with an anti-censorship organization called Peacefire , but similar dangers lurk in other such software. Many districts are forcing schools or libraries to install filters, although the ACLU reports that court challenges against government filtering are proceeding. An important case in Loudon County, Virginia, came down against filters in public libraries. A statement against such disruptions was issued by the GILC in English and Spanish .