ZGram - 12/21/2002 - "Germany on the censorship path - again!"

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

December 21, 2002

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

Should I say, "...here we go again?"

[START]

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Germany's most populous state is requiring 
Internet providers to block two U.S.-based neo-Nazi websites after a 
court ruled the measure did not violate the providers' rights, 
officials said Thursday.

The verdict followed months of legal wrangling between North 
Rhine-Westphalia's top new-media official, Juergen Buessow, and 18 
Internet providers based in the state, who said they could not be 
held responsible for the sites' content.

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"We don't want such content to be available to everyone," said Ulrich 
Schiefelbein, a spokesman for Buessow's office. He refused to name 
the U.S. sites or the providers, citing German privacy laws.

German law makes spreading Nazi ideology to the public a crime, but 
the Internet offers a loophole to neo-Nazi sites based abroad. German 
officials have repeatedly made efforts to block such content in 
recent years, even though it is legal in the United States, where the 
sites are based.

The blocking requirement is the latest attempt by a government to 
rein in the global medium by imposing regulations on Internet service 
providers.

In the United States, Pennsylvania has a law requiring companies 
serving its customers to block child pornography sites. Panama tried 
to order its service providers to block cheap long-distance calls 
over the Internet, until its Supreme Court struck down the effort.

Critics say such efforts turn private companies into arms of the 
police and ultimately threaten the Internet by creating barriers to 
the free flow of information and innovation.

In the latest case, a district court in the city of Arnsberg ruled 
Dec. 12 that Buessow's order for providers to block access to the two 
American websites was legal.

The providers are appealing to a higher state court and have 
threatened to leave North Rhine-Westphalia for other German states 
that don't have limiting regulations.

If the verdict against the providers stands, it could set a legal 
precedent in Germany that could have far-reaching implications for 
providers nationwide.

[END]

(Source:  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56945,00.html )