********* Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 10:39:48 +0200 From: Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org> To: Axel H Horns <hornsat_private> Cc: debateat_private, declanat_private Subject: Re: [FYI] (Fwd) FC: German state moves to block "illegal" sites including On Wed, Oct 17, 2001 at 09:13:22AM +0200, Axel H Horns wrote: >[Rotten.com is certainly in poor taste, which I believe is the point, >but illegal? Heavens. Now some Germans will no longer be able to get >their daily dose of Bonsai Kittens, hosted at rotten.com. Just for the record, I can access rotten.com right now from within Nordrhein-Westfalen. It doesn't seem like the blocking effort is terribly successful. -- Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org> ********* Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 09:26:43 +0200 From: Matthias Leisi <matthiasat_private> To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private> Subject: Re: FC: German state moves to block "illegal" sites including rotten.com In-Reply-To: <5.0.2.1.0.20011016193919.00ab6da0at_private>; from declanat_private on Tue, Oct 16, 2001 at 07:51:41PM -0700 (Context: http://www.politechbot.com/p-02662.html) Swiss authorities have tried similar approaches in the (not-so-distant) past. In January/Februar 2001, under the pressure of a group which calls itself "Aktion Kinder des Holocaust" (Action of Holocaust Children) swiss ISPs were asked to block traffic to a yet unkown number of (nazi propaganda) sites. SIUG (Swiss Internet Users Group) asked ISPs directly as to what sites they were blocking, but only few responded (mainly those who said they were not blocking anything). But two large backbone providers (Sunrise.ch and IP/Plus, subsidiary of former monopolist Swisscom) were blocking access to at least some sites. See SIUG Press Release at http://www.siug.ch/presse/Presse.20010629.html Already in 1998, Swiss authorities requested that ISPs shut down connectivity to a number of sites (a transcript of this letter is available at http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&selm=an_374548192 ). There is no sound legal base for those attempts at censorship _yet_. There are some provision in terms of laws on anti-hate speech already in place, and two parliamentary initiatives to clarify the situation for ISPs are underway: http://www.parlament.ch/ab/frameset/d/n/4609/35656/d_n_4609_35656_35784.htm Matthias (Disclaimer: Member of SIUG) ********* From: "Thomas Leavitt" <thomasleavittat_private> To: declanat_private Subject: Re: FC: German state moves to block "illegal" sites including rotten.com Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 05:55:15 -0700 Germany's big ISP, T-Online blocked us (I think at the direction of the government) but backed down in the face of massively bad pr. Switzerland blocked us due to zundelsite at core routers for years, and we couldn't do anything about it. Egypt blocked us for years due to porn, I think. Hazard of running a free speech oriented shared hosting service. Thomas ********* Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 10:44:14 +0200 From: Alexander Svensson <alexanderat_private> To: declanat_private Subject: Re: FC: German state moves to block "illegal" sites including rotten.com Hi Declan! Some additional info: > [Rotten.com is certainly in poor taste, which I believe is the point, but > illegal? Heavens. http://www.bonnanwalt.de/entscheidungen/NRWBezReg-Duesseldorf21-xxxx.html This is the text of the Nordrhein-Westfalen decision, with the site names xxx'ed out. d) clearly refers to rotten.com: Angebote im Internet sind unzulässig, wenn sie 1. gegen Bestimmungen des Strafgesetzbuches verstoßen (§ 8 Abt 1 Nr. 1 MdStV), 2. den Krieg verherrlichen (§ 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 MdStV), 3. offensichtlich geeignet sind, Kinder oder Jugendliche sittlich schwer zu gefährden (§ 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 MdStV), 4. Menschen, die sterben oder schweren körperlichen oder seelischen Leiden ausgesetzt sind oder waren, in einer die Menschenwürde verletzenden Weise darstellen und ein tatsachliches Geschehen wiedergeben, ohne dass ein überwiegendes berechtigtes Interesse gerade an dieser Form der Berichterstattung vorliegt; eine Einwilligung ist unbeachtlich (§ 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 MdStV), [...] d) http://www.xxxxx.com Auf der Seite dieses amerikanischen Content-Provider, der gleichzeitig sein Angebot hostet, wird auf zynische Art und Weise Gewalt- und Kriegsverherrlichung betrieben. Weiterhin werden in unzähligen Bildern Unfall- und Gewaltopfer unter Nichtbeachtung der Menschenwürde gezeigt. Eine Unzulässigkeit dieser Angebote ergibt sich nicht nur aus dem Verstoß gegen die o.g. Rechtsvorschriften unter den Nrn. 1 und 2 ( § 130, 130a und 86 StGB) sowie Nr. 3 (sittliche Gefährdung von Kindern und Jugendlichen), sondern insbesondere gegen die Nrn. 4 und 5 - Menschen werden in einer die Menschenwürde verletzenden Weise dargestellt -. My translation: Internet presentations are inadmissible, if they 1. contravene penal code regulations (§ 8 section 1 nr. 1 interstate treaty on media services) 2. glorify war (§ 8 section 1 nr. 2) 3. are obviously capable of morally endangering children or young people seriously (§ 8 section 1 nr. 3), 4. depict people that are dying or are exposed to severe physical or mental suffering in a way violating human dignity and portray an actual event without there being an overwhelming legitimate interest in exactly this form of reporting; a consent is not to be considered (§ 8 section 1 nr. 4), [...] d) http://www.xxxxx.com On the page of this American content provider, which at the same time is hosting its presentation, there is glorification of violence and war in a cyncial way. Furthermore, victims of accidents and violence are shown in countless picture failing to observe human dignity. The inadmissibility of these presentations does not only follow from the regulations mentioned above under nr. 1 and 2 (§130, 130a and 86 criminal code) and nr. 3 (moral threat to children and young people), but especially against nr. 4 and 5 -- people are depicted in a manner violating human dignity. > Now some Germans will no longer be able to get their > daily dose of Bonsai Kittens, hosted at rotten.com. Not all of Germany is subject to this, only a number of Nordrhein-Westfalen access providers. And sites /hosted/ at rotten.com are, IIUC, not subject to this ban, only the website at www.rotten.com, so Bonsai Kittens should not be concerned. Best regards, /// Alexander ********* Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 11:30:37 +0100 To: declanat_private From: Yaman Akdeniz <lawya@cyber-rights.org> Subject: Case Analysis of the Yahoo case Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Declan, I have written a case analysis of (the Yahoo case) League Against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA), French Union of Jewish Students, v Yahoo! Inc. (USA), Yahoo France, Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris (The County Court of Paris), Interim Court Order, 20 November, 2000. This has been now published in [2001] Electronic Business Law Reports, 1(3) 110-120 and a pdf version is available at: http://www.cyber-rights.org/documents/yahoo_ya.pdf It may be of interest to your readers. All the best, Yaman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. Yaman Akdeniz, Director, Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) URL: http://www.cyber-rights.org E-mail: lawya@cyber-rights.org Tel: +44 (0)7798 865116 Use Free Secure Web based e-mail through http://www.cyber-rights.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********* From: jamyangat_private Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 09:33:20 -0000 To: <declanat_private> Subject: china (un)blocks sites They're down, they're up, they're down ... and now, websites based in the West are up again in China as the government lifts its blocks....or are they? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Declan, Reuters team in Shanghai for the APEC summit reports that China has unblocked certain news sites http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47622,00.html a reverse trace route suggests that while these website's are now going through the international gateway in Shanghai, the Beijing gateway is again blocking them. (it was briefly available via beijing gateway on tuesday). this would seem to suggest to me that these major media outlets are available purely for the benefit of the media assembled for the summit, and does not represent a siginificant policy change on the part of the Chinese government. I have been watching this process closely recently, particularly since i am releasing a report on the impact of the internet on human rights in china on thursday, 18 october, 1100 (EST). Amongst other systems, the report analyses the tracking capability of the hi- speed metro area network that has been installed in the international media centre for the 3000+ journalists to use to file their stories from the summit this week. the report is accompanied by a cd-rom that provides people in china with a range of tools for circumventing censorship and surveillance software. if you would be interested in recieving a copy of my report, or have any futher questions, please don't hesitate to get in contact. best, greg walton ********* From: Sonia Arrison <sarrisonat_private> To: "'canucksat_private'" <canucksat_private> Subject: CANUCKS: More on Cdn anti-terrorism bill Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 12:36:38 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-URL: Canucks is at http://www.canadiansintheus.com/ Below is the Canadian government's press release as well as a CBC link. -Sonia http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/10/15/terror_law0110 15 http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2001/doc_27785.html GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INTRODUCES ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OTTAWA, October 15, 2001 - The Government of Canada today introduced in the House of Commons a new package of anti-terrorism measures as part of its Anti-Terrorism Plan. This package takes aim at terrorist organizations and strengthens investigation, prosecution and prevention of terrorist activities at home and abroad. The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Solicitor General of Canada, and the Honourable John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced the details of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act. "The horrific events of September 11 remind us that we must continue to work with other nations to confront terrorism and ensure the full force of Canadian law is brought to bear against those who support, plan and carry out acts of terror - we will cut off their money, find them and punish them," said Minister McLellan. " The Government of Canada Anti-Terrorism Plan has four objectives: stop terrorists from getting into Canada and protect Canadians from terrorist acts; bring forward tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists; prevent the Canada-US border from being held hostage by terrorists and impacting on the Canadian economy; and work with the international community to bring terrorists to justice and address the root causes of such hatred. "As a nation, we must be prepared to ensure our safety and security. This legislation will provide our law enforcement and national security agencies with additional tools to identify and dismantle terrorist organizations and prevent terrorist acts," said Minister MacAulay. "These measures are in keeping with the actions of our allies," said Minister Manley. "They are an important element in Canada's commitment to join its international partners in confronting and stamping out terrorism around the world." The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act includes measures to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists, such as: defining and designating terrorist groups and activities to make it easier to prosecute terrorists and those who support them; making it an offence to knowingly participate in, contribute to or facilitate the activities of a terrorist group or to instruct anyone to carry out a terrorist activity or an activity on behalf of a terrorist group; making it an offence to knowingly harbour a terrorist; creating tougher sentences and parole provisions for terrorist offences; cutting off financial support for terrorists by making it a crime to knowingly collect or give funds, either directly or indirectly, in order to carry out terrorism, denying or removing charitable status from those who support terrorist groups, and by making it easier to freeze and seize their assets; and ratifying two UN anti-terrorism conventions, the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, as well as the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel Convention. The bill will give law enforcement and national security agencies new investigative tools to gather knowledge about and prosecute terrorists and terrorist groups, as well as protect Canadians from terrorist acts, including: making it easier to use electronic surveillance against terrorist groups; creating new offences targeting unlawful disclosure of certain information of national interest; amending the Canada Evidence Act to guard certain information of national interest from disclosure during courtroom or other judicial proceedings; amending the National Defence Act to continue and clarify the mandate of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) to collect foreign communications; within carefully defined limits, allowing the arrest, detention and imposition of conditions of release on suspected terrorists to prevent terrorist acts and save lives; requiring individuals who have information related to a terrorist group or offence to appear before a judge to provide that information; and extending the DNA warrant scheme and data bank to include terrorist crimes. These necessary measures target people and activities that pose a threat to the security and well being of Canadians. This is a struggle against terrorism, and not against any one community, group or faith. Diversity is one of Canada's greatest strengths, and the Government of Canada is taking steps to protect it. Measures will be included in the bill to address the root causes of hatred and to ensure Canadian values of equality, tolerance and fairness are affirmed in the wake of the September 11 attacks. These include: amending the Criminal Code to eliminate online hate propaganda and create a new offence of mischief against places of religious worship or religious property; and amending the Canadian Human Rights Act to extend the prohibition against hate messages beyond telephone messages to include all telecommunications technologies. The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act includes rigorous checks and balances in order to uphold the rights and freedoms of Canadians. For example, the scope of Criminal Code provisions is clearly defined to ensure that they only apply to terrorists and terrorist groups. The Act will also be subject to a Parliamentary review in three years. The scope of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act is consistent with Canada's legal framework, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the requirement for due process, and the consent of the Attorney General and judicial review where appropriate. These measures are also in keeping with actions taken by Canada's international partners against terrorism. "The measures we are introducing strike the right balance between civil liberties and national security, and signal our resolve to ensure that Canadians will not be paralyzed by acts of terrorism," said Minister McLellan. The Act builds on Canada's longstanding and continuing contribution to the global campaign against terrorism. Under the Criminal Code, terrorists can already be prosecuted for hijacking, murder and other acts of violence. Canadian courts also have the jurisdiction to try a number of terrorist crimes committed abroad to ensure that terrorists are brought to justice, regardless of where the offence was committed. Canada has already ratified 10 of 12 United Nations counter-terrorism conventions and, with this bill, will be able to ratify the remaining two. The proposed legislation also builds on regulations introduced by the Government of Canada on October 3, 2001 following a UN Security Council resolution, to cut terrorists off from their financial support. - 30 - Ref: Farah Mohamed Minister McLellan's Office (613) 992-4621 Dan Brien Minister MacAulay's Office (613) 991-2924 Sanjeev Chowdhury Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (613) 995-1851 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CANUCKS -- the moderated mailing list for Canadians living in the U.S. For details, visit http://www.canadiansintheus.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ********* ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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