QuickLinks - Content regulation

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Issue no. 171 - 1 October 2000

• China cracks down on Internet cafes (AFP)
  Chinese police are to close more than half of the Internet cafes in Shanghai in a bid to raise the moral standards of the city's young people and prevent adults from playing 'corrupting' computer games.

• USA - Gore Gets Thumbs Up at Internet Gathering (Reuters)
  At a trade gathering for the Internet adult entertainment industry, a key speaker declared the Democrats a stronger advocate of free-speech rights than the Republicans and called on operators of X-rated Web sites to use their sites to promote Gore's candidacy.

• Saudi censors try to stay a step ahead of Net surfers (San Jose Mercury Center)
  Surfing the Web at a Saudi Internet cafe, Mazin looks around to see if anyone is watching. "Bingo" whispers the 20-year-old, successfully accessing a pornographic site after several days of trying.

Issue no. 170 - 24 September 2000

• Australia - Censorship Legislation - Wrecking the Internet? (National Law Review)
  Article by Carolyn Penfold, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales.

Issue no. 168 - 9 September 2000

• ACLU To Defend Pedophile Web Site (Newsbytes)
  Wading into the thick of yet another unpopular cause, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is defending the rights of the wildly controversial North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) to maintain its Web site.

• Luxembourg launches consultation on content self-regulation (New Media Group)
  The Luxembourg government has launched a consultation on content self-regulation (questionnaires for businesses and individuals in French and German). Results will be published in October 2000. see also Protection des mineurs et respect de la dignité humaine sur Internet - Etat des lieux.

• Australia - Online Content Regulatory Scheme report released (DCITA)
  Australians can now manage Internet content access with greater certainty according to the first report on the co-regulatory scheme for Internet Content regulation tabled by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. see also Web group disputes child sex report (Sydney Morning Herald).

Issue no. 166 - 30 July 2000

• USA - Judiciary Committee Removes Net Provisions From Drug Bill (ComputerUser)
  Before unanimously passing legislation aimed at stemming the tide of rising illegal methamphetamine use, the House Judiciary Committee removed language from the bill that would have made it a crime to transmit drug recipes over the Internet. see also ACLU Applauds House Committee Members For Stopping Attack on Civil Liberties (ACLU - Press Release)

Issue no. 165 - 22 July 2000

• USA - Pennsylvania Court Upholds Student's Permanent Expulsion (The Legal Intelligencer)
  A student who created a Web site where he said why one of his teachers should die and said derogatory things about his principal did not have his constitutional rights violated when he was permanently expelled from his local school district, a split Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled.

Issue no. 164 - 15 July 2000

• Chinese website author faces subversion charge (AFP)
  An website author in southwestern China has been charged with subversion for reporting news about the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

• Microsoft yanks site containing violent threats (CNET News.com)
  Microsoft's MSN pulled a Web page that called for the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and other officials at this week's Middle East peace talks at Camp David.

• Myanmar Works Hard to Keep the Internet Out (The New York Times)
  In Myanmar (formerly Burma), access to the Web is strictly banned, and unauthorized use of a modem is punishable by 7 to 15 years in jail.

• USA - eBay asks court to bar member over foul language (CNET News.com)
  eBay has asked a federal judge to permanently bar a man from its Web site, accusing him of using foul language and flouting its own attempts to ban him.

• USA - Investment firm files suit over message boards (Bloomberg)
  Credit Suisse First Boston asked a federal judge to order a New Jersey man and 10 others to pay $1 million for allegedly libeling the firm by posting critical messages about one of its analysts on a Yahoo message board.

Issue no. 163 - 9 July 2000

• U.S. firms silent over Chinese Net arrest (Mercury News)
  U.S. Internet companies, which often cite information technology as the key to promoting free speech in China, have responded with resounding silence to an urgent call for help from a human rights group concerned about the detention of a Chinese Web site operator.

Issue no. 161 - 25 June 2000

• Hong Kong chasse l'obscène du Net (transfert)
  Bannir les contenus obscènes de son territoire et restreindre ceux qualifiés d'indécents aux seuls adultes. Voilà l'ambition avouée du gouvernement de la "région administrative spéciale" de Hong Kong, qui devait clore une consultation publique sur le contrôle d´articles obscènes et indécents (COIAO, Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance).

• The Internet - Founding myths (Economist)
  Book reviews of Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace by Lawrence Lessig and the Control Revolution by Andrew L. Shapiro.

• U.S. Athletes Rebuffed in Nude Photo Net Case (Reuters)
  A federal judge rejected a lawsuit against two Internet access providers, PSINet and GTE, filed by dozens of Illinois State University athletes after their nude images were marketed on the World Wide Web.

• USA - Anti-porn law doesn't apply to Internet (Journal Sentinel)
  A person who sends pornography to a child over the Internet cannot be charged under a state law with exposing a minor to harmful materials, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled because the sender of materials has no way of knowing whether the recipient is a minor.

• USA - Court Upholds Injunction Against Child Online Protection Act (Legal Intelligencer)
  In ACLU v. Reno, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction that barred enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act, finding that the fatal flaw in the law was its use of "community standards" - a concept that simply doesn't work in the non-geography of cyberspace. see also Setback for Pornography Law (New York Times).

Issue no. 160 - 17 June 2000

• France - L'anonymat sur le Web sera sauvegardé (Libération)
  Exit la disposition qui fâche: les internautes n'auront plus trop à se soucier de s'identifier avant de s'exprimer sur le Web, comme leur imposait le projet de loi sur la liberté de communication prévu en troisième lecture demain à l'Assemblée. Au final, l'obligation d'identification demeure... mais pas les peines. voir aussi Loi sur les hébergeurs : dernière ligne droite (Transfert).

• Germany - Medienwächter: RTL II verletzte in sieben Fällen Pornografieverbot (dpa)
  RTL II hat nach Feststellung der Medienwächter in seinem Erotikprogramm gegen das Pornografieverbot verstoßen. Die zuständige hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk (LPR) beanstandete insgesamt sieben Spielfilme und untersagte die Ausstrahlung solcher Sendungen.

Issue no. 159 - 11 June 2000

• Chinese Web Site Operator Arrested on Subversion Charges (AP)
  Authorities in southwestern China have arrested the operator of a local Web site who posted news about dissidents and the government's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

• USA - Porn panel wrestles with Age Verification (Newsbytes)
  While existing technology could be used to effectively bar minors from visiting Web sites containing pornographic and sexually explicit material, implementing such technological solutions would create a whole thicket of constitutional concerns, witnesses told the congressionally appointed Commission on Online Child Protection. The notion of creating technology that would allow parents to identify Internet browsers installed on their home machines as "kids only," appeared to meet with the support of many commissioners and witnesses.

• USA - Senator Seeks .Sex (Wired)
  Senator Joseph Lieberman wants to segregate Internet smut, saying that the U.S. government should consider alternative ways of shielding children from sexually explicit material, such as creating a new top-level domain such as ".sex" or ".xxx."

Issue no. 158 - 4 June 2000

• Amex Nixes X-Rated Exchanges (Wired)
  In a few weeks, no online porn site will take American Express. At least, American Express will no longer cover credit card transactions from porn sites. They have examined the digital adult content industry for a year and determined that there was an unacceptably high incidence of disputes about transactions.

Issue no. 157 - 28 May 2000

• Playboy Wins Cable Victory (Reuters)
  In United States v. Playboy, the Supreme Court struck down a law that requires sexually explicit cable television channels to completely block their signals to non-subscribing households. The high court, by a 5-4 vote, agreed with Playboy's arguments that the 1996 federal law was too broad and violated constitutional First Amendment free-speech rights.

• UK - Censors to accept new ruling on video porn (Times)
  The British Board of Film Classification will not appeal against a judgment which dismissed the board's challenge against its Video Appeals Committee, which decided that hardcore pornographic videos could be sold in licensed sex shops. see also Pornography is a danger to children (Independent).

• USA - Online Porn Business Booms (Medill News Service)
  Transmitting obscenity and child pornography over the Internet is illegal under federal law. But without the U.S. Department of Justice actively prosecuting Web sites that distribute it, porn online is a lucrative business, according to testimony before the House subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection. see also Antiporn Activists Lobby for Laws (Wired), So Much Online Porn, So Little Time (The Standard).

Issue no. 156 - 20 May 2000

• China punishes web site for 'spreading rumours' (Reuters)
  China has punished a financial website for spreading rumours that damaged the government's image as authorities announcedfurther moves were under way to regulate news content on the unruly Internet.

• Medienwächter prüfen möglichen Pornografie-Verstoß bei RTL II (dpa)
  Die für die Aufsicht des Privatsenders RTL II zuständige Hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk (LPR) prüft derzeit, ob einige von dem Privatsender ausgestrahlten Erotik-Spielfilme den Tatbestand der Pornografie erfüllten.

• UK - Radio Authority fines Virgin Radio £75,000 (Press release)
  The Radio Authority has fined Virgin Radio £75,000 for a serious breach of the rules requiring due impartiality from broadcasters. In the Virgin Breakfast Show, Chris Evans expressed live on air, in two extended pieces, his support for Ken Livingstone in the London Mayoral Election.

• UK - Censor fails to ban porn videos (Reuters)
  The High Court in London rejected a challenge by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) against a decision by its own Video Appeals Committee to permit seven explicit films to go on sale at British sex shops.

• USA - ACLU Accuses Intel Of Violating Free Speech (Newsbytes)
  The ACLU is backing a former Intel employee who was ordered to stop sending e-mail critical of Intel to coworkers.

Issue no. 155 - 14 May 2000

• Saudis 'defeating' internet porn (BBC News)
  The director of the government organisation that monitors all Saudi internet traffic says he believes his unit is succeeding in blocking all the major pornographic sites. As well as porn, the Saudi authorities block access to any sites they believe could stir up religious hatred.

Issue no. 154 - 7 May 2000

• C4 to show banned sex scenes on web (Guardian)
  Channel 4's movie channel is to screen explicit sex scenes on the internet to highlight the strict rules which restrict what can be shown on television. The FilmFour web site is to host an online debate on the issues of censorship as well as screening the scenes on May 5.

• Policing the Net (Guardian)
  Guardian Unlimited sponsored Oxford University's Policing the Net debate on 28 April. Read about the debate and listen to highlights, as Nadine Strossen, John Abbott, Yaman Akdeniz and David Kerr discuss the motion: This house believes that any attempt by government to police the internet is both unworkable and a severe threat to civil liberties.

• UK - Teenagers to see 'quota' of film sex as censors loosen rules (Sunday Times)
  Teenagers are to be permitted to watch more explicit sex scenes on videos and in cinemas by British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The new code will define precise "quotas" of sex, violence and bad language for each age group.

Issue no. 153 - 1 May 2000

• As Internet Grows, Censorship Follows (NUA)
  Government censorship of Internet sites is increasing, according to a new report from the human rights group Freedom House. The report, Censor Dot Gov: The Internet and Press Freedom 2000, says that as the World Wide Web develops at an exponential rate, governments in many countries, both developed and developing, are increasingly tempted to censor online information.

• Australia - Internet content complaints scheme - the first 3 months (Press Release)
  In the first three months of Internet content complaint investigation, the Australian Broadcasting Authority issued final take-down notices for 31 items of Australian-hosted content, referred 45 items of content to the makers of filtering software products and referred 7 items of content to law enforcement agencies.

• China - Un bureau pour surveiller les informations en ligne (Nouvel Observateur)
  La Chine se dote d'un bureau chargé de surveiller les informations circulant sur le net : l'Internet Information Management Bureau a, en effet, pour objectif de traquer les informations 'nuisibles' accessibles en ligne.

• USA - Suit Against Anonymous Pest Revives Online Speech Law (New York Times)
  little-known federal law restricting indecent speech online that many lawyers thought was essentially dead has come back to life in Federal District Court in Manhattan, to the chagrin of some civil libertarians.

Issue no. 152 - 15 April 2000

• Web site questions UK libel law (FT)
  The European Court of Human Rights is to be asked to rule that English libel laws breach the right to freedom of expression on the internet, after a spate of web site closures by internet service providers for fear of libel damages. The challenge to the European court is being brought by Outcast, a gay magazine. Its web site was closed by Netbenefit, its service provider, after the Pink Paper, the mainstream gay community newspaper, threatened to sue if any libellous material appeared on the Outcast web site. see also Gagging the net in 3 easy steps BBC), CACIB arises phoenix-like from ashes of UK censorship (Campaign Against Censorship of the Internet in Britain) and Service-Provider im Vereinigten Königreich zittern vor Verleumdungsklagen (Heise Online).

• USA - New York Internet Porn Law Upheld (New York Law Journal)
  Drawing a sharp distinction between New York's Internet pornography law and the fatally flawed federal Communications Decency Act, the Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the constitutionality of the state statute. The Court agreed unanimously that the New York law survives constitutional scrutiny largely because, unlike the stricken federal statute, it is directed not only at the transmission of certain communications, but also the act of luring a child into sex.

Issue no. 151 - 8 April 2000

• Chinese not fooled by April 1 e-mail ruse (FT)
  Chinese police have shut down a website that tried to boost the numbers visiting it with an April Fool's ruse. Cyberspace, they said, was no place for pranks. Police said the e-mail violated rules against publishing material that "twists or distorts facts, spreads rumours and disturbs social order".

• Computer programming languages protected by First Amendment (New York Times)
  Computer programs used to scramble electronic messages are protected by the First Amendment because those codes are a means of communication among programmers, the Federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. see Junger v. Daley.

Issue no. 150 - 2 April 2000

• France - Parliament votes to outlaw anonymous web posting (vnunet.com)
  During a second reading at the French Parliament of a new law concerned with the freedom of communication, a proposal was added which requires that an author of content on the internet must provide identification details to their ISP. The proposal has angered the ISP industry who say that the proposals are unclear and will risk alienating French ISPs. voir aussi Loi sur la liberté de communication : Amendements relatifs à Internet (IRIS), L'Assemblée nationale vote l'identification volontaire des pages personnelles françaises sous peine de prison : l'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions (AFA) et L'Assemblée nationale programme la mort d'Internet en France (Communiqué de presse d'IRIS)

• USA - Booksellers disavow content of controversial book (CNET News.com)
  Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com have agreed to post an Anti-Defamation League statement on their Web sites that calls a controversial book, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic forgery and a tool of hate groups. The online booksellers also agreed to post their own statements that say they don't endorse the views expressed in the book.

Issue no. 149 - 26 March 2000

• Chinese watchdog goes online (FT)
  China's telecommunications and internet industry regulator launched its first web site company, signalling the government's growing ambition to exert ownership control over what it regards as a disorderly domestic internet business. See also Beijing set to step up net curbs (FT).

• Out of control (New Scientist)
  A system that makes it easy to publish information on the Internet anonymously could give a free rein to terrorists, software pirates and paedophiles, say Internet watchdogs. But the creators of Freenet believe the risk is worth taking to preserve free speech on the Net. see also No-Name Internet Use Poses Security Threat-Report (Reuters).

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