International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

FIGHTING ILLEGAL INTERNET CONTENT - MAY ACCESS PROVIDERS BE REQUIRED TO BAN FOREIGN WEBSITES? A RECENT GERMAN APPROACH
By Pascal H. Schumacher

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 4-8-2004

Abstract

On February 6th 2002, the North Rhine-Westphalian district government asked the local access providers to block the access to two American websites containing racist and anti-Semitic information. These blocking decrees have triggered off a controversy about the providers' legal responsibility in general and especially the access providers' responsibility for web content. Lobbyist groups have articulated indignation towards the district government's measures. The decrees have been labeled as public censorship and calls for protection of the freedom of expression have risen. It might be the political explosiveness of the topic that has recently set off such a great number of comments and statements. In the following report, the various aspects of this controversial argument will be portrayed, discussed and evaluated along with the current problems.

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