Internet problems in Queensland....

Hardcore library porn may spark Big Brother ban
Christine Kellett
July 6, 2009

A Sunshine Coast council may consider a Big Brother-style monitoring system for internet users at public libraries after an elderly man was spotted watching hardcore pornography on a library computer.

Buderim mother Alison Sheldon complained to Sunshine Coast Regional Council after witnessing the incident at Maroochydoore library last month, but said she was "fobbed off" by senior council staff who told her internet filtering was not possible.

But Councillor Anna Grosskreutz said the excuse was rubbish and the council would now look at a number of policy options to stop the "grubby'' practice.

She said the Council could consider a swipe card system for computer users to track exactly what they were downloading at ratepayers' expense.

"You absolutely can develop a software around it if you want to," Cr Grosskreutz told ABC Radio.

"In fact, Councillors and Council staff are prohibited from a number of sites within our own computer system, so why wouldn't the same sort of policy be applied to the library?"

Cr Grosskreutz said she was "shocked" by Ms Sheldon's complaint, which involved young children possibly being exposed to the offensive material, and would meet the former librarian today to discuss her complaint further.

"It is grubby behaviour," she said.

"These are places for families to go to.

"If you've got a small percentage who are going to ruin it for everybody, let's get a policy in place [and] let's get rid of them. They can pay $30 a month or whatever it is for another (internet) provider and do what they like in their own home."

In March, Brisbane public library assistant David Harold Wegert, 55, was sentenced to two years' probation after using a library computer to scour the internet for child pornography.

In December, a man was sentenced to two years' jail for possessing child abuse material he obtained from Maroochydore library computers.

Source: brisbanetimes.com.au

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