2 Scope of this paper

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This paper is intended to contribute to discussion; it is not intended to comprehensively or conclusively cover all issues surrounding human rights in cyberspace. The Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) has worked and continues to working on a range of human rights issues connected with the Internet, including

access and accessibility for people with disability
access and online safety for older Australians
racial discrimination and vilification in online environments
sexual harassment over the Internet
cyber safety for children and cyber-bullying
online safety in Indigenous communities

The Commission’s has also been conducting a series of ‘RightsTalks’ seminars on human rights and the Internet. Links to the full range of activities by the Commission on issues of human rights and cyberspace are available on our project page on human rights and the internet.^[8]

In this paper three issues in particular are raised for consideration:

freedom of expression and Internet censorship
effective responses to racism, sexism, sexual harassment and homophobia on the Internet
rights to access the Internet.

^[8] At http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human-rights-and-internet.