The Australian Government’s proposed measures to police the web for the good of the country’s citizens have now attracted the opposition of search engine majors, Google and Yahoo.

The plan, unveiled late last year and dubbed the ‘the great firewall of Australia’, is the brainchild of Australia’s Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy. Conroy has already tried a censorship mechanism that depends on complaints made by the general public. An independent body will determine which website should be blocked depending on how much negative reviews it gets from the public. Once a site is declared Refused Classification (RC) internet service providers (ISPs) will have to block it from the public domain.

The idea has been severely criticised by many who feel that the government is playing with the fundamental right of freedom of expression. Critics say the implementation of such a plan would mean that a moral minority can now decide what content the majority of the country’s citizens could get to see and read. But some groups such as the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Inspire Foundation believe the subjects labelled as RC are too diverse for a ban to successful.

Google and Yahoo have expressed their displeasure at the plans by going public with their submissions to the government’s consultation process.

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