ArsTechnica is reporting today that the Australian government’s claims that local Internet users will be able to opt-out of the proposed ISP-level content filtering, is only partially true.

The story is based on a comment made by Mark Newton, an Internode network engineer, to Computerworld that “users are able to opt out of the “additional material” blacklist—which targets content inappropriate for children—but not the main blacklist that filters what the Australian government determines is illegal content.”

Aside from the fact that, according to ISPs, the inadequate technology behind the filtering could “cripple Internet speeds” there is the obvious question of whether or not the Government should be filtering content, irrespective of the nature of it.

For those who believe that illegal content filtering is desirable, the next question is what will define “illegal”? Where there is some debate as to whether or not content “might” be illegal (think about the recent drama surrounding Bill Henson’s photos) will the default position be to filter or to allow? And what about something much more widespread like P2P traffic? Will the common misconception that P2P = copyright infringement hold? And will the government proactively protect copyright independent of whether or not copyright owners identify alleged abuses?

I could go on for quite some time, which confirms in my mind there are too many questions still unanswered for this type of filtering to be put in place just yet, if ever.

Lending Hub is a Sydney based company who have developed Australia’s first peer to peer lending service for unsecured personal loans.

The model is closer to prosper.com than Zopa in that they seek to intermediate loans between a borrower and multiple lenders (via a loan listing) rather than negotiate better rates from established financial institutions through bulk.

Co-Founder Ivan Mantelli explained the Lending Hub concept to me:

Our objective is to create a liquid market for borrowers to post a loan listing where lenders (individuals) can bid using a reverse auction technology on the loans. At the end of the loan listing period the loan that are successfully fully funded would attract the lowest possible aggregate interest rate based upon all the bids placed by lenders on the loan.

We will manage the marketing (finding the consumers and lenders), borrowing applications, credit grading and online identity verifications and finally the loan settlement and collection of repayments of the loan over time.

We expect that borrowers will enjoy using the is service given the ability to obtain financing even if they have unusual credit histories and also the possibility of obtaining better interest rates than the banks are currently offering.

The current site shows the style and interface of the platform with the Lending Hub team expecting to launch in the coming weeks with full borrowing and lending applications.

The technology platform was built from scratch by the Lending Hub’s team of coders. This was a must, according to Ivan, due to the “novelty of the application”. On the business side, the team is well equipped to succeed with backgrounds in lending institutions, investment banking, tech startups and online media planning.

Despite all this, there’s still a little voice in the back of my mind that is unsure about Lending Hub’s prospects. It has nothing to do with the team’s ability to execute. Rather, the uncertainty is related to the core business.

The concern? Because of increased competition, the spread between financial institution lending, and deposit, interest rates are fairly narrow - so why would a lender provide funding towards an unsecured loan if they could get similar returns with lower risk from depositing the money in a bank (notwithstanding the current economic conditions)?

I can think of a few examples where people may want to be involved.

• Smaller loans (you can loan as little as $50 towards a loan application), where interest rates on that amount are fairly insignificant in traditional deposit taking institutions
• People who have a large amount to invest where there is benefit to be had from the scale of their investment and the few extra interest points they might get compared to putting it into a savings account, for instance.
• Or even when people feel emotionally tied to a loan applicants story

The problem is that none of these are really going to help Lending Hub shake up the world.

Then again, If you look at Prosper.com it’s clear that the model can work, so I’m a little confused.

What do you think? Would you lend people money through Lending Hub? Would you apply for financing through Lending Hub?

I’m keen to hear your thoughts.