Government will implement internet content filtering

The National Government has announced the start of Internet content filtering in Papua New Guinea to create a safer online environment.

As part of the initiative, Minister for Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu says one thousand websites containing unsuitable content have been identified.

In a statement, Mr. Masiu says these websites contain materials such as pornography, bestiality, explicit sexual content, child pornography, and content related to homosexuality and lesbianism.

He says that the identification process had sufficient information for the Chief Censor to use to make a recommendation to the country's ICT regulator, NICTA. 

NICTA as the regulator will instruct all its internet service provider licensees, to block access to internet protocol (IP) addresses, associated with these websites. 

Minister Masiu also says that the Internet content filtering initiative aims to block a total 30 thousand IP addresses containing unsuitable content. The list will be updated regularly and blocking access will become a regular activity. This measure is taken to ensure there is ongoing protection for internet users in Papua New Guinea. 

He adds that access to these tens of thousands of IP addresses in PNG will be blocked, as they have been identified to have content classified as 'Refused Classification' under the PNG Censorship guidelines.  Access restriction will not be lifted unless written advice is provided by the Office of Censorship. 

The directive to filter unsuitable content is a proactive measure, and is in response to a National Executive Council Decision, through the National Censorship Policy II 2021-2025, as well as the NICTA Corporate Plan 2021-2025.