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