Australian Crackdown On Console Modchips Likely To Continue

angry tapir writes "Late last week an Australian court issued an injunction against a handful of retailers selling or importing hardware — commonly known as 'mod chips' — that allows unauthorized software to run on Sony's PlayStation 3. The court also required that the four parties that were the subject of the injunction actually hand over to Sony any PlayStation modchips they have. Sony's PlayStation 3 mod chip lawsuit could be just the first of many such cases in Australia, according to a lawyer who defended a client against Nintendo in a similar case earlier this year."

Australia: The Lucky Country

[slackarse]

Come visit Australia, "The Lucky Country". I mean, come visit Australia, We will steal your internets [wikipedia.org], then we will steal your pr0n [smh.com.au], now we will steal your gamez".

Fuck it, don't visit Australia, because it's gone to the dogs already.

Unlawful seizure

[mykos]

This no-questions-asked demand of goods without a trial and insta-judgement favoring the plaintiff doesn't bode well for the country as a whole.

Looks like they're cutting straight to the heart of the matter. Whoever has the most money is right.

What's With Australia?

[Frosty Piss]

What is it with Australia? They want to filter the Intertubes in was that make Iran look like an island of freedom, they regulate games like some nanny from 1984 ( the book ), their proposed copyright laws cause orgasms for the record and movie cops... Are the people that propose these law actually elected and represent the views of the average Aussie?

Love the last sentance of that wiki link

[mjwx]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Australia [wikipedia.org]

it is now virtually impossible for the filtering scheme to pass through the Senate.

The Filter is dead, long live the filter (I'm sure many angry ./ers wont let it die). At least I can still give the finger to an AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services) official at the international airport and not disappear into an interrogation room for 3 days.

As far as overreaching border controls go, we did not get the short end of the stick.

Also, customs are only searching for illegal porn (so that video of you and your monkey wife doing is legal, tasteless but legal) you just have to declare that you've got it, the same as prescription medication. After all, it's not like customs will hand back you porn if you so much as threaten to sue them, no wait... they did [news.com.au].

Besides, asking "Do you have any pornographic material" is slightly less absurd then "Do you intend to overthrow the government of the United States" as far as arrival questions go.

So dear Americans, dont Visit Australia because you'll have a harder time trying to get back into your own country (and you're not staying here forever).

Re:Love the last sentance of that wiki link

[mjwx]

Are you trying to be obtuse here?

Are you trying to be retarded here? What I posted should be clear enough. The law has been challenged, AQIS cannot abuse it.

I don't think it's the government's business what my wife and I do in our bedroom even if we photograph or video tape it.

It is the governments business what you bring into and out of this nation. It's their business because it's my business. There are a whole host of things (pests, diseases, dangerous items) I dont want you bringing in here. If you dont want the government to watch you and Mrs simian going at it then dont bring it, simple.

Customs laws apply to Customs zones only, which are at points of entry and exit of this country. Unless you've built your bedroom inside a customs zone your point is irrelevant.

Unlike the US, Australian Customs Laws (Customs Act of 1901) protects me from unlawful seizure (I.E. a government employee cant simply run off with my laptop and do what they like with it without cause) as well as non-customs related questions (are you gay, did you have sex with any prostitutes, do you believe in Mohammed and so forth). It limits their abilities to search and gives me recourse if they act outside the bounds of the customs act (as in the link I posted). But it also gives me an obligation to declare anything I bring in. Everything that gets taken off you requires the Customs agents to issue you with a seizure receipt, failure to do so is a federal crime. Further more if you believe this seizure to be unfair you can challenge it in court (this has been done before, successfully).

So I hate to interrupt you knee jerk "buh-buh-buh-mah-freedoms" reaction but I still have a lot more freedom getting into and out of this country then I do in the United states, didn't they suspend your entire constitution in customs zones.

Hung Parliment == VERY Good

[FriendlyLurker]

Your right, Aussie were getting pretty sick of it and, and like the English, have sent a clear message through: neither of the two major parties deserved to be a majority. Now rather than run Aussies off to another war, filter their internet, "reform" their labor laws without even so much as a serious debate, they'll have to run it through thinking third parties like the greens that don't just toe the party line. If you listen to some (most?) of the press you'd get the impression that hung parliaments were a bad thing... but in reality it is just bad for the status quo - here's to hoping that the future of Aussie/UK politics will see more hung parliaments than ever.

America has got no chance of being fortunate enough to get a "hung congress", unfortunately.

Answer: no, they don't, and Australia is generally getting pretty sick of it.... ...recent elections resulted in a hung parliament where neither of the two major parties could form a majority.