Google (GOOG) who recently announced that they would be pulling out of China, due to not reaching an agreement over censorship have now criticised Australia over a controversial plan to filter the Internet. Google stated its main concern with Australia''s proposal was that the scope of content to be filtered is too wide.

Yahoo! Australia criticised the filter''s reach as too wide and said it could block content with a strong social, political and/or educational value on topics such as euthanasia, graffiti, terrorism, abortion and homosexuality. Google has stated that Australia has gone beyond filters that are being considered in countries such as Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

Microsoft (MSFT) expressed concerns about arbitrary executive decision-making and called for regular audits of blacklisted material to maintain public confidence in the system''s transparency. Internet user groups, the pornography industry and others have likened Australia''s proposed system to official firewalls operating in repressive regimes such as China and Iran.