The internal security agency of Germany has asked the media company
Bertelsmann to help stop Napster being used for the exchange of
pro-Nazi music in MP3 files. Bertelsmann recently entered into a
deal with Napster which could settle legal disputes between the
companies, subject to Napster members paying a subscription fee for
continued services.
A spokesman for the security agency has said that the agency is
concerned that anyone using Napster has access to “skinhead and
Nazi music with its incitement to hatred and its appalling
anti-Semitic content.” Such music would breach German laws on
Nazi-related material.
Napster has in the past argued that it is powerless to prevent
the trade in particular songs. It does not store the MP3 files
which its users download; it only stores a directory of what its
users say they are making available from their own hard disks.
Napster can close the accounts of members it finds trading
particular files, but it is not difficult for these members to
re-register under a different username. There is also the problem
that Napster users can deliberately label MP3 files with incorrect
artist and title details.
