Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We have forwarded your email to our Censorship Team ([email address]).They will respond to you as soon as possible. Alternately you can contact them by phone on (+64 4) 495 7200.

Kind Regards,

Customer Services Team
Shared Services Branch
Department of Internal Affairs - Te Tari Taiwhenua
Phone: (+64 4) 495 7200
www.dia.govt.nz

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Good morning Daniel

 

Thank you for your email of 26 October 2011 requesting, under the Official
Information Act, information about the Department's Digital Child
Exploitation Filtering System (DCEFS).  I will address each of your
questions in turn.

 

1.         Under what part of the Code of Practice is the DIA filtering
Computer Generated Images?

 

Clause 2.1 of the Code of Practice provides the following:

            The scope of the DCEFS will be limited to preventing access to
known websites that contain publications that promote or support, or tend
to promote or support, the exploitation of children, or young persons, or
both, for sexual purposes (FVPC Act, section 3(2)(a)).

 

2.         Given the filter does NOT filter "Objectionable Material" then
under what mandate are CGIs being added to the filter given that they are
not images of Child Abuse nor according to the Explanatory Statement
"evidence of actual criminal activity".

 

The Department has always been open in the fact that the filtering system
is preventing access to a small number of computer generated images (CGIs)
depicting the sexual exploitation of young children.  The filtering system
permits the blocking of websites (where this is justified), individual
website pages or even individual images.  The following is from the 15
October 2010 minutes of the Independent Reference Group:

 

"Aware that the inclusion of drawings or computer generated images of
child sexual abuse may be considered controversial, officials advised that
there are 30 such websites on the filtering list. Nic McCully advised that
officials had submitted computer generated images for classification and
she considered that only objectionable images were being filtered. It was
noted that images of popular television cartoon characters engaged in
sexual acts, which are quite common on the internet, would not be added to
the filter list."

 

All computer generated images that have been added to the filter list have
been subject to classification by the Office of Film and Literature
Classification.  Only those images that promote or support, or tend to
promote or support, the exploitation of young children for sexual purposes
are added to the filter list.

 

3.         I'm also requesting the exact contract that the DIA has signed
with NetClean to provide the filtering service.

 

In light of the New Zealand Government’s policy of improving the
transparency of government contracts, the Department has disclosed the
existence of the contract, its value ($150,000), the name of the supplier,
the nature and quality of the software provided.  I can advise you that
the term of the contract is for 7 years.

The contract itself is being withheld in terms of:

o section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act (release would
unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who is
the subject of the information), and
o section 9(2)(ba)(i) of the Official Information Act (to protect
information that is subject to an obligation of confidence where the
release of the information would prejudice the supply of similar
information, or information from the same source, and it is in the
public interest that such information continue to be supplied).

 

I am satisfied that, in the circumstances of this case, the withholding of
this information is not outweighed by other considerations that render it
desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available. 
Under section 28(3) of the Official Information Act 1982 you have the
right to apply to the Ombudsman for a review or investigation of my
decision to withhold information requested.

 

 

Steve O'Brien

National Manager

Censorship Compliance Unit

Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua

PO Box 805

WELLINGTON

Telephone: 04 495 9371

Fax: 04 495 9389

www.censorship.dia.govt.nz

 

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