 |
|
| technology > computing |
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo}
( | |
 |
|
| |
| |
EDITIONS: | |
MULTIMEDIA: | |
E-MAIL: |
Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists. Enter your address: |
DISCUSSION: |
CNN WEB SITES: |
 |
TIME INC. SITES: |
CNN NETWORKS: |
|
SITE INFO: |
WEB SERVICES: |
German official asks U.S. ISPs to block neo-Nazi sites
|
BERLIN (IDG) -- A German state-level official is challenging U.S. ISPs (Internet service providers) to help combat neo-Nazi propaganda on the Internet.
Düsseldorf District Government President Jürgen Büssow has sent an open letter to four ISPs and to U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman William Kennard, asking them to block neo-Nazi Web sites on their servers.
The action comes as Büssow is warning German ISPs that they face fines of up to 500,000 marks (US$231,000) for hosting neo-Nazi sites. As authorities have turned up the heat on German neo-Nazis, many have moved their Web sites to U.S. servers.
"If a content provider is based in the United States, I can't get at them," Büssow said in an interview Monday. "But I don't think any Internet provider wants to be known in Germany for spreading Nazi propaganda; that would hurt their business."
Büssow said four U.S.-based ISPs are responsible for three sites that carry anti-Semitic and racist content in German and an English-language site dedicated to Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel, with a German-language subsection. He sent the open letter to those four ISPs.
| MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE |
IDG.net home page
|
| Download free software from PCWorld.com |
| ITWorld.com: The IT Problem-Solving Network |
| TechInformer: The Thinking Internaut's Guide to the Tech Industry |
| E-BusinessWorld |
| Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net |
| Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletters |
| Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you |
| News Radio |
Fusion audio primers
|
|
Computerworld Minute
|
A search of a "whois" database shows at least two of the sites in question are registered to fictitious addresses in Berlin. "Thulenet" is registered to "Janus-Kommunikation," named for the two-faced god of Greek mythology. No such company is listed in the German telephone directory.
A spokesman for the FCC did not immediately return phone calls.
Büssow said that, despite the broad interpretation of freedom of speech in the U.S., he feels confident that there is a legal basis in U.S. law for stopping hate speech. He pointed to Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the U.S. is a signatory, guaranteeing protection against discrimination and incitement to discrimination.
"I think there's a limit to freedom of speech when it comes to appeals for violence against third parties," he said.
RELATED STORIES:
German political party calls for anti-Nazi Net filter
August 14, 2000
The trouble with regulating hatred online
July 25, 2000
Yahoo wins court reprieve in Nazi sales case
July 26, 2000
Jewish group complains over sale of hate books online
August 10, 1999
New software will help school, police identify threats and hate crimes on the Net
July 6, 1999
RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
German state official blames ISPs for hatred sites
(IDG.net)
French judge forms panel to review Yahoo Nazi case
(IDG.net)
Germany's CDU calls for anti-Nazi Net filter
(IDG.net)
Controversy arises over neo-Nazi domain names
(IDG.net)
German industry fights TV tax on PCs
(IDG.net)
Mixed response to German Green Card
(IDG.net)
Letsbuyit.com stumbles over German laws
(IDG.net)