Internet giant Google led high-profile criticism of Australia’s controversial plan to filter the Internet Tuesday, saying it went too far and could set a dangerous precedent.

Currently locked in a major dispute over censorship in China, the US web giant said its primary concern with Australia’s proposal was “that the scope of content to be filtered is too wide”.

Google said Australia went “well beyond” filters being considered in countries such as Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, which focus only on blocking material related to child sex abuse.

Such a sweeping mandatory regime risked damage to Australia’s reputation, it said, adding in a veiled reference to autocratic countries such as China that it could “confer legitimacy upon filtering by other governments”.

“Australia is rightly regarded as a liberal democracy that balances individual liberty with social responsibility,” Google said, in a submission to Australia’s government.

“The scope of content to be filtered is too wide.” Google

“The governments of many other countries may justify, by reference to Australia, their use of filtering, their lack of disclosure about what is being filtered, and their political direction of agencies administering filtering.”

Canberra in December announced an ambitious plan to block access to sites featuring material such as rape, drug use, bestiality and child sex abuse with an Internet-wide content filter administered by service providers.

Google said such a “massive undertaking” would limit network speeds, and that filtering material from popular sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter appeared to “not be technologically possible”.

Filtering could also give a false sense of security to parents and was easily circumvented, the company said.

We would love to here your thoughts on Australia’s filter plan.

Electronic Frontiers Australia is coordinating a petition against the Government’s mandatory Internet filtering policy that will be presented to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia. What are you waiting for? Help save the internet for all Australian.