ISPs breaching the new law, which comes into force next month, run the risk of fines of $5,000 for a first offence, $20,000 for a second, and $30,000 for a third offence. On a third offence, officers of a guilty ISP could go to prison for up to seven years.
After an offending URL is identified by those at the Attorney General’s office it must obtain an order from the court and then has three working days in which to notify the ISP.
Critics point out that those posting child pornography to the internet tend to change the URL on a regular basis, sometimes hourly. By the time an ISP receives notification of offending material at a certain URL, the site will likely have changed location. It appears that the only party likely to suffer under the law is the ISP.