The Australian Greens have called on the Federal Government to abandon its internet filtering trial as it's flawed and doomed to failure, while Telstra and Internode announce they're boycotting it.

"These internet service providers are sending a clear message to the Government - they don't think mandatory internet filtering will work and they don't want to participate in it," said the Greens Communications Spokesperson, Senator Scott Ludlam.

"This trial is simply all show. It won't give any meaningful indication of how mandatory internet filtering would work in practice. One of the few Internet Service Providers participating is only doing so to prove to the Government that it won't work. We won't even get a sense of the impact of the filter on internet performance, because the trial is not even going to be using real customers. "

Senator Ludlam has questioned Communications Minister Stephen Conroy about the filter in Senate Estimates and Question Time.

"It is clear that the community is profoundly concerned about the filter - its impact on civil liberties and the performance of the internet. The government's policy is flawed and won't work. It will slow down the internet at a time when they are trying to speed it up, especially in regional Australia," concluded Senator Ludlam.

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