The regulations, imposed a year ago, aimed to block access to
two hate-speech web sites. ISPs and civil rights groups immediately
challenged the orders in courts, but lost three out of four cases.
It appears that Dusseldorf's local government has now ordered the
immediate execution of the blocking order.
German ISPs and civil rights advocates claim that the order is
in sharp contrast with German legislation and a unanimous
declaration of the European Parliament against the use of blocking
as a means of regulating internet content.
German campaign group FITUG has now launched a public campaign
against the order. The group is a member of European Digital Rights
(EDRi), a separate group founded by 10 privacy and civil rights
organisations from seven EU countries.
FITUG argues that filtering of internet content is impractical
and inefficient due to the "unclear technical situation," and that
it violates German residents' "right to receive information from
other cultures."
Blocking a limited number of hate-speech sites, the group says,
cannot justify such erosion of civil liberties. The group also
claims that, since the order is only enforceable in the Dusseldorf
region, ISPs "don't really know how to deal with it."
The FITUG statement is available (in English) at www.fitug.de/news/pes/21012003_en.html
