Germany's Biggest 'Net provider Bans 1,500 sites
Germany's largest Internet provider, Deutsche Telekom, cut access to
nearly 1,500 internet sites on Thursday, January 25. The primary target
of this ban is what has been deemed to be "neo-Nazi" propaganda. Inexplicably
other sites included various finanicial services and even "Santa Claus
On-line."
Computer users in Germany were very upset and accused Deutsche Telekom of
limited the free flow of information.
On Wednesday, prosecutors said that they were considering filing incitement
charges against Deutsche Telekom and CompuServe for allegedly aiding
in the distribution of revisionist articles such as
The Holocaust: Let's Hear
Both Sides and "Did 6 Million Really Die?"
Revisionist and neo-Nazi materials are illegal to print or distribute in
Germany. Violators are often charged with inciting racial hatred. Telekom's
T-online servie eliminated access to all sites on a California computer
as a "preventive measure" while waiting to hear back from the prosecutor.
This current wave of censorship comes only a month after German prosecutors
announced that they had identified 200 "sexually related" Internet newsgroups
which were illegal under new restrictive German laws.
Adapted from: The Associated Press 01-27-96
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