QuickLinks - Filtering & blocking

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Issue no. 403 - 24 November 2009

• AU - Technical Observations on ISP Based Filtering of the Internet (Australian Computer Society)
  Report from the Filtering and E-Security Task Force. Labels: Filtering_and_blocking

• IGF - IGF: Jugendschützer für Netzsperren (Heise)
  Die Jugend im Netz war neben Klassikern wie Meinungsfreiheit und Datenschutz eines der großen Themen auf dem diesjährigen Internet Governance Forum (IGF) im ägyptischen Sharm El Sheik. Auf rund einem Dutzend Veranstaltungen wurden Themen wie Kinderschutz im Internet oder der Kampf gegen Kinderpornographie diskutiert. Dabei sprachen sich Experten auch für den Einsatz von Netzsperren aus.

• Internet Blocking study (Aconite)
  Government attempts to block access to the Internet are mounting throughout Europe - but look set to backfire, according to new study. The Open Society Institute funded the report which is titled "Internet Blocking: Balancing Cybercrime Responses in Democratic Societies." The study shows how efforts to block Internet content are spreading throughout democratic Europe. In Germany, Britain, Italy and Scandinavia, the measures are intended to block pages containing child pornography. The new study concludes that the measures are ineffective. Many technical ways exist to get around blocking technologies. More importantly, the blocking measures are intrusive and often abuse fundamental freedoms. These systems either over-block or under-block content and do not prevent the serious offender from gaining access. Labels: Filtering_and_blocking

Issue no. 402 - 18 October 2009

• DE - Koalitionsvereinbarung: Web-Sperren weg, Vorratsdatenspeicherung eingeschränkt (Heise)
  Die für die Innen- und Rechtspolitik zuständige Koalitionsarbeitsgruppe von FDP und Union hat überraschend schnell einen Kompromiss ausgearbeitet, wonach die geplanten reinen Blockaden kinderpornographischer Seiten faktisch passé sind. Das Bundesinnenministerium soll das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) anweisen, international stärker auf die tatsächliche Löschung kinderpornographischer Inhalte im Internet zu drängen. Zugleich wird der Wiesbadener Polizeibehörde untersagt, Sperrlisten an die Zugangsanbieter herauszugeben. Die bislang vom noch nicht in Kraft getretenen Zugangserschwerungsgesetz sowie in Verträgen großer Provider mit dem BKA vorgesehenen Web-Sperren könnten so nicht zur Anwendung kommen. Konkret setzen die Liberalen vor allem auf die Internetwirtschaft und die Verbesserung von Hotlines zum Löschen illegaler Inhalte wie INHOPE, dass das BKA auf dem kleinen Dienstweg über eine direkte Ansprache von Providern ohne den Umweg über ausländische Polizeibehörden mehr zum Entfernen kinderpornographischer Angebote aus dem Netz beitragen könnte.

• DE - Aktivierung der Netzsperren - "Verheerender Ausblick" (Heise)
  In den nächsten Wochen muss das Gesetz zur Netzsperre von den Providern umgesetzt werden. Michael Rotert von der deutschen Internetwirtschaft warnt vor Überregulierung und Offline-Politikern.

• Middle East and North Africa filtering (ONI)
  The OpenNet Initiative is proud to announce the release of our Middle East and North Africa study. see also blog post. While not all countries in the Middle East and North Africa filter the Internet, censorship across the region is on the rise, and the scope and depth of filtering are increasing. Testing has revealed political filtering to be the common denominator across the region; however, social filtering is on the rise. Many Arab countries have begun blocking explicit and morally objectionable content in the Arabic language that was previously accessible. While many regimes are transparent about social filtering, most continue to disguise political filtering practices by attempting to confuse users with different error messages.

• ONI Presents Social Media Filtering Maps (ONI)
  The summer of 2009 was a hectic one for online social media: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a bevy of other sites fell under the censors' axe in China and Iran as political events - namely the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the Iranian presidential election - shook both countries. Based on testing conducted in 2008-2009, the OpenNet Initiative has compiled data on the most frequently blocked social media sites around the world. We are proud to present five new social media filtering maps that serve as easy visual guides to the countries where Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, Twitter and YouTube are blocked.

Issue no. 401 - 26 July 2009

• AU - Net filtering a $33m waste: child groups (Australian IT)
  Child rights groups have come out in force to criticise the Rudd Labor government's controversial plan to censor the internet, saying the scheme will divert around $33 million away from more effective ways of tackling online child pornography. In a joint statement with lobby group GetUp, both Save the Children Australia and the National Children's & Youth Law Centre believe the resources could be better spent on law enforcement agencies battling to eradicate child pornography on the internet.

• DE - Bundeskriminalamt fühlt sich gerüstet für Web-Sperren (Heise)
  Das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) kann nach eigenen Angaben "ab Beginn des Wirkbetriebes" der geplanten Infrastruktur zum Blockieren kinderpornographischer Inhalte die von ihm zu erstellende Filterliste zur Verfügung stellen. Es werde dabei "im Benehmen mit zuständigen Stellen" sichergestellt, dass allen nach dem Gesetz verpflichteten Provider die Liste erhalten. Auch für die "Kompatibilität" des Filterverzeichnisses mit den Systemen der Zugangsanbieter werde gesorgt. Details zu den technischen Abläufen könnten "aus Sicherheitsgründen" aber nicht bekannt gegeben werden.

• NZ - Web filter will focus solely on child sex abuse images (Press release)
  A filtering system to block websites that host child sexual abuse images will be available voluntarily to New Zealand internet service providers (ISPs) within a couple of months, Internal Affairs Deputy Secretary, Keith Manch, said today. The Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System, funded with $150,000, will be operated by the Department in partnership with ISPs, and will focus solely on websites offering clearly objectionable images of child sexual abuse, which is a serious offence for anyone in New Zealand to access. The Department has entered into a partnership with ECPAT New Zealand, part of a global organisation the purpose of which is the elimination of child prostitution and pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes. "ECPAT is operating a hotline through its website so that members of the public can report suspect sites, not already identified by the Department." see also NZ Internet Filtering FAQ by Thomas Beagle.

Issue no. 400 - 5 July 2009

• CN - 'Big Brother' fears as China prepares to filter pcs for "unhealthy" content (RSF)
  Reporters Without Borders voiced concern over China's plan to force computer manufacturers to install software on personal computers to filter information seen by the Communist Party as "unhealthy". The 'Green Dam' software, which must be installed from 1st July onwards will filter pornographic content, the industry and information and technology ministry has decided. "It is a scenario worthy of Big Brother that is unfolding in China", the worldwide press freedom organisation said. "First comes the arrests of dissident bloggers and now the time for surveillance built into computers themselves".

• CN - China blocks Google website (FT)
  Google's global website was blocked in China on Wednesday night, marking an escalation in Beijing's unprecedented crackdown on the world's leading search engine company. Attempts to access Google.com and Gmail from different computers in Beijing started failing after 9pm local time, but the websites could be accessed through proxy servers - normally a sign that a website is being blocked by internet censors. The service in Beijing at least was back after two hours. The blocking came after Google appeared to resist an earlier order to restrict access to foreign websites through Google.cn, its local website.

• CN - China delays internet filter plan (BBC)
  China is delaying a controversial plan requiring all new computers sold in the country to be equipped with an internet filtering software, state media says. The filter, called Green Dam Youth Escort, was to have been required from Wednesday, but the ministry of industry said computer makers needed more time. Its planned rollout sparked widespread disapproval inside China, legal challenges and overseas criticism. Officials say it is designed to shield children from pornography and violence. The BBC's Quentin Somerville, in Beijing, says the reversal is an embarrassing climb down for the Chinese government.

• CN - China Internet filter challenged in rights uproar (Reuters)
  A Chinese lawyer has demanded a public hearing to reconsider a government demand that all new personal computers carry Internet filtering software, adding to uproar over a plan critics say is ineffective and intrusive. Li Fangping, a Beijing human rights advocate who often embraces controversial causes, has asked the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to allow hearings on the "lawfulness and reasonableness" of the demand, which takes effect from July 1 and was publicized only this week.

• CN - China orders PC makers to install blocking software (Guardian)
  Computer makers in China have been instructed to pre-install blocking software on every PC hard drive from next month, under a government push to control access to the internet. The new software, which has been developed by companies working with the Chinese military, is specifically aimed at restricting online pornography, but it could also be used to strengthen barriers to politically sensitive websites. China's authorities currently block overseas-based sites they disapprove of, such as those relating to Tibetan independence, or the Falun Gong spiritual movement, with a mesh of filters and keyword restrictions, widely known as the Great Firewall. see also China defends screening software (BBC). See also Green Dam filtering software scorned by many Chinese (Rebecca MacKinnon).

• CN - Let people decide on Green Dam (China Daily)
  The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's latest regulation to preinstall filtering software on all new computers by July 1 has triggered public concern, anger and protest. A survey on Sina.com, the largest news portal in China, showed that an overwhelming 83 percent of the 26,232 people polled said they would not use the software, known as Green Dam. Only 10 percent were in favor. In the Green Dam case, buyers, mostly adults, should be given the complete freedom to decide whether they want the filtering software to be installed in their computers or not. Respect for an individual's right to choice is an important indicator of a free society, depriving them of which is gross transgression. Let's not allow the Green Dam software to block our way into the future.

• CN - OpenNet Initiative releases Green Dam evaluation (ONI)
  The news that China will begin requiring all computers sold in the country to include Internet filtering software has sparked waves of commentary on topics ranging from legal challenges to human rights issues to concerns about security and effectiveness. The software, known as Green Dam Youth Escort, ostensibly protects children from harmful information online by filtering out sites that contain prohibited keywords. It will be mandatory on every computer sold in China after July 1, 2009. The OpenNet Initiative worked this week to evaluate the functionality of Green Dam. In "China's Green Dam: The Implications of Government Control Encroaching on the Home PC," we review the functional elements of this new software and explore the possible effects of its implementation on a national scale. We conclude that Green Dam is deeply flawed and poses critical security concerns for users. See also Analysis of the Green Dam Censorware System Scott Wolchok, Randy Yao, and J. Alex Halderman, Computer Science and Engineering Division, The University of Michigan.

• CN - U.S. Firm Says China Stole Software for Web-Filter (Wall Street Journal)
  A California company alleged that an Internet-filtering program being pushed by the Chinese government contains stolen portions of the company's software. The company, Solid Oak Software Inc., said it will try to stop PC makers from shipping computers with the software. Mr. Milburn said Solid Oak received an anonymous email stating that Green Dam may contain parts of his company's code. Some lawyers said that because the software will only be sold in China, Solid Oak faces an uphill legal battle, even if it targets U.S. companies.

• CN - US objects to China's net filter (BBC)
  The US has called on China to scrap its plan to put net-filtering software on all its computers. It said that China's proposals would violate its free trade obligations, weaken computer security and raise serious censorship concerns. China has demanded that all computers come supplied with software called Green Dam from 1 July.

• DE - Bundestag verabschiedet Gesetz für Web-Sperren (Heise)
  Der Bundestag hat mit den Stimmen der großen Koalition den Gesetzentwurf zu Web-Sperren im Kampf gegen die Verbreitung von Kinderpornographie über das Internet abgesegnet (389 Ja-, 128 Nein-Stimmen, 18 Enthaltungen). Das Gesetz, das nach umfangreichen Änderungen den Titel "Gesetz zur Erschwerung des Zugangs zu kinderpornographischen Inhalten in Kommunikationsnetzen" trägt, soll auf drei Jahre befristetet werden. Das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) soll täglich eine Sperrliste erstellen. Alle Zugangsanbieter mit mindestens 10.000 Teilnehmern müssen sie "unverzüglich" und zumindest auf Ebene des Domain Name Systems (DNS) implementieren. Ausgenommen sind Provider, die keine öffentlichen Internetzugänge vermitteln und selbst "vergleichbar wirksame Sperrmaßnahmen" einsetzen. Das BKA darf außereuropäische Kinderporno-Angebote "sofort" in das Filterverzeichnis aufnehmen, wenn ihm eine Löschbarkeit der Serverinhalte in "angemessener Zeit" nicht plausibel erscheint. Informationen an die betroffenen Host-Provider über die inkriminierten Inhalte muss die Polizeibehörde nicht verschicken. Als nächstes muss sich der Bundesrat mit dem Vorhaben befassen. Da es sich nicht um ein zustimmungspflichtiges Gesetz handelt, könnten die Länder höchstens Einspruch erheben und das Inkrafttreten am Tag nach der Verkündigung im Bundesgesetzblatt verhindern. Damit ist aber nicht zu rechnen, da die Koalition vielen Forderungen des Bundesrates Rechnung getragen hat. Das Gesetz könnte so im Sommer oder Herbst bereits Gültigkeit erlangen.

• DE - Familienministerium, Kinderschützer und Europol fordern mehr Web-Sperren (Heise)
  Die europäische "Konferenz zum Schutz vor sexueller Gewalt gegen Kinder und Jugendliche mit Fokus auf neue Medien" hat in Berlin eine gemeinsame Abschlusserklärung zum internationalen Kampf gegen Kinderpornographie verabschiedet. In der von Bundesfamilienministerin Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) initiierten Deklaration wird in 16 Punkten unter anderem die in Deutschland bereits gesetzlich verankerte Zugangserschwerung zu Webseiten mit kinderpornographischen Inhalten als "flankierende Maßnahme" gegen Kinderpornographie bezeichnet. Sie sei "umso effektiver, je mehr Staaten" mitmachten. Die Erklärung wurde unterzeichnet von Europol, dem Bundeskriminalamt, den Kinderschutzorganisationen Innocence in Danger, ECPAT, Save the Children und UNESCO Deutschland. siehe auch Regierung fordert mehr internationale Zusammenarbeit (Der Spiegel).

• DE - Final Declaration of Berlin Conference on Protecting Children (BMFSFJ)
  Protecting Children and Young People from Sexual Violence with a Focus on the New Media: Perspectives for Europe. Final Declaration, International Conference, Berlin, 30 June 2009.

• IR - Iranians find ways to bypass Net censors (CNET News.com)
  by Declan McCullagh. A new generation of Iranians has found ways to bypass the country's Internet restrictions and disseminate details about Iran's internal turmoil in the wake of the recent election. In technical circles, at least, Iran is well-known for erecting one of the world's most restrictive Internet blockades, second only to China in its scope. Certain blogs are cordoned off, politically unacceptable keywords are blocked, and Web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, the BBC, and YouTube remain - at least at the moment - off-limits. But the government's censors have been unable to staunch every data leak.

• UK - Make the unfiltered web illegal, says children's coalition (Guardian)
  Internet companies should be forced to filter the web in order to reduce the volume of indecent material being shared online, according to children's charities. In a new "digital manifesto", a leading group of charities including the NSPCC, the Children's Society and the National Children's Bureau argue that the government should legally compel ISPs to screen out images of child abuse and underage sex. Compulsory filtering is just one of a number of recommendations made by the Children's Charities Coalition on Internet Safety (CCCIS), which believes that action must be taken now to prevent new technologies from being used to proliferate abusive images online.

Issue no. 399 - 7 June 2009

• CN - Die Große Chinesische Firewall (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger)
  Wolfgang Kleinwächter ist Professor am Department for Media and Information Sciences der Universität Aarhus in Dänemark und Direktor des NETCOM Instituts der Medienstadt Leipzig e.V.. Im Interview spricht er über Internetzensur in China und die Gefahr einer Aufsplitterung des World Wide Web.

Issue no. 397 - 8 March 2009

• DE - Familienministerin kämpft an allen Fronten für Kinderporno-Sperren (Heise)
  Bundesfamilienministerin Ursula von der Leyen hat im Vorfeld einer Anhörung im Unterausschuss Neue Medien des Bundestags erneut die Werbetrommel gerührt für ihre heftig umstrittene Forderung nach Sperrungen kinderpornographischer Webseiten durch die Internetprovider. Die heftige Kritik aus Reihen der Internetwirtschaft und von Rechtsexperten bezeichnete die CDU-Politikerin als reines "Ablenkungsmanöver". Siehe auch DE - Rechtsprofessor kritisiert Vertragsentwurf für Kinderporno-Sperren, CCC veröffentlicht Vertragsentwurf zum Sperren von Kinderpornographie, Siehe auch Kinderporno-Sperren im internationalen Vergleich und DE - Arbeitsgruppe zu Kinderporno-Sperren ergebnislos vertagt.

• FR - Sites pédopornographiques: Sarkozy veut bloquer, les FAI d'accord (AFP)
  Le président Nicolas Sarkozy a souhaité la création d'une "liste noire" des sites pédopornographiques sur internet et que les fournisseurs d'accès les bloquent, ce que ces derniers ont accepté, tout en s'interrogeant sur le coût du filtrage des sites. Dans l'après-midi, les fournisseurs d'accès à internet (FAI) ont fait savoir qu'ils étaient "décidés à bloquer les sites" en question, comme le leur a demandé le président, a assuré la Fédération française des télécoms. Voir aussi Recommandation « Les enfants du Net III » et Communiqué de presse (Forum des droits sur l'internet).

• IE - Music-swapping sites to be blocked by internet providers (Sunday Post)
  Irish internet users are to be blocked from accessing music swapping websites, as internet service providers bow to pressure from the music industry. Eircom, the country's biggest internet provider, is to start blocking its internet customers from accessing music swapping. The country's other internet providers have been told by the Irish Recorded Music Association (Irma) to follow suit or face legal action. If the music industry is successful, Ireland will become the first European country to completely block access to hundreds of file-sharing websites.

• UK - IWF chief: why Wikipedia block went wrong (ZDNet.co.uk)
  The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an organisation set up by internet service providers to monitor child sexual abuse websites, caused a furore in December when it attempted to block a page on online collaborative encyclopaedia Wikipedia. Through a combination of technical factors, people wishing to edit Wikipedia were blocked from doing so, causing an outcry. The image the IWF tried to block was the LP cover for Virgin Killer, a 1976 album by German rock band Scorpions. Peter Robbins, chief executive of the IWF, talked to ZDNet UK about the fallout from the decision to block the page, and whether self-regulation of internet content is effective.

• UK - Online child abuse image warning (BBC)
  Children's charities have expressed "serious concerns" many UK households still have access to images showing child sex abuse via their computers. The government had asked all internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegal websites by the end of 2007. But firms providing 5% of broadband connections have still failed to act. See also Can we block child abuse sites? (BBC).

Issue no. 396 - 8 February 2009

• DE - Bundesregierung berät mit Providern über Kinderporno-Sperren (Heise)
  Die Bundesregierung macht Ernst mit der Einrichtung von Sperren für kinderpornografische Angebote im Internet. Das Bundesinnenministerium hat Vertreter großer deutscher Internet Service Provider in Deutschland nach Berlin geladen, um die Umsetzung von Access-Sperren zu erörtern. In dem Schreiben heißt es: "Die Bundesregierung sieht sich in ihrer Auffassung bestätigt, dass Access-Blocking neben einer konsequenten Täterermittlung und Schließung von Quellen ein schnell einsetzbares und geeignetes Mittel ist, um effektiv gegen kinderpornografische Seiten vorzugehen und Schutzmechanismen aufzubauen." Wie diese Sperren umzusetzen wären, werde derzeit geprüft. Die immer wieder vorgebrachten Bedenken gegen die technische Umsetzbarkeit und Wirksamkeit der Internetsperren will die Bundesregierung offenbar nicht akzeptieren. Als Vorbild werden die Länder Norwegen, Dänemark, Schweden, Finnland, Italien, Großbritannien, die Schweiz, Neuseeland, Südkorea, Kanada und Taiwan genannt. "Ihre Partnerunternehmen sind zum Teil daran beteiligt", heißt es im Schreiben an die Provider.

• DE - Familienministerin: Provider machen mit beim Sperren von Kinderporno (Heise)
  Bundesfamilienministerin Ursula von der Leyen ist nach einem Gespräch mit Internetprovidern zuversichtlich, dass in sechs bis acht Wochen eine mehr oder weniger freiwillige Vereinbarung mit einem Großteil der deutschen Zugangsanbieter zur Blockade kinderpornographischer Webseiten steht. Sämtliche Beteiligten an der internen Runde seien einer Arbeitsgruppe beigetreten, in der bis Ende Februar unter Federführung des Familienministeriums die nötigen Umsetzungsschritte vorgenommen werden sollten. Siehe auch Neue Bedenken gegen Web-Sperren im Kampf gegen Kinderpornographie.

• NZ - Filter to prevent access to child porn sites (Radio New Zealand)
  The Department of Internal Affairs is setting up a filter system that will allow internet service providers to stop people accessing child pornography. But there are concerns that the power to censor browsing could be abused. The filter system has already been trialled in hundreds of thousands of New Zealand households. Internal Affairs deputy secretary Keith Manch says the voluntary system blocks access to 7000 websites carrying images of child sexual abuse. Internet Safety group NetSafe welcomes the move, but says there could be concerns if the department later uses the filter to block a wider variety of websites. Mr Manch says there are no such plans and the filter is only for targeting the sexual abuse of children. He says the department is finalising its analysis from the trial and will be discussing with internet providers how to impelement the system.

Issue no. 395 - 27 December 2008

• AU - Australian firewall trials start (BBC)
  The Australian government is due to start a series of field trials this month in order to filter websites that are harmful to children. The 'cyber-safety plan', spearheaded by Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy, will cost around AUS$126m (£55m) and will be implemented over a period of four years. See also Net firms rebuff filtering plan (BBC) and The Great Firewall of Australia (ARN).

• CN - China defends latest web censorship (Guardian)
  Chinese government officials have defended their decision to block several foreign news websites, including the BBC, as the country moves away from its pledge for uncensored internet access during the Beijing Olympics. The BBC, Voice of America, Hong Kong's Ming Pao News and Asiaweek have all had their websites blocked in China since early December. Restrictions had previously been lifted in August, when foreign journalists demanded full access during the Olympics. China's foreign ministry said that it was within its rights to block sites that showed content illegal under the country's law.

• U.K. Internet watchdog backtracks on Wikipedia ban (CNET)
  The UK's Internet watchdog reversed its decision to prevent users in that country from visiting a Wikipedia page containing an image of a naked child. The Internet Watch Foundation had taken exception with a page dedicated to a 1976 album by rock band The Scorpions. The cover of that album - called Virgin Killer -includes the image of a prepubescent girl, which the group deemed a "potentially illegal indecent image," landing Wikipedia on the group's blacklist. As a result, Internet service providers in the U.K. began filtering access to all pages of the online encyclopedia over the weekend. The IWF reversed that decision after an appeal and presentation by the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia. "The IWF board has today considered these findings and the contextual issues involved in this specific case, and - in the light of the length of time the image has existed and its wide availability - the decision has been taken to remove this Web page from our list," it said. See How to make child-porn blocks safe for the internet (Guardian) by Cory Doctorow and Why the IWF was wrong to lift its ban on a Wikipedia page (OUT-LAW News).

Issue no. 394 - 7 December 2008

• AR- Argentine search engines told to block famous names (OUT-LAW News)
  Search engines in Argentina have been banned from linking to stories naming up to 100 famous people including football legend Diego Maradona in a move critics have said is tantamount to censorship. Google and Yahoo! have filtered search results relating to the names on their Argentine sites but not their international ones, the companies told internet filtering campaigning organisation the OpenNet Initiative (ONI).

• AU - Black, greylists wrong approach to net filtering: Analyst (ARN)
  An information security expert claims the government has the wrong approach to Internet filtering, and should focus on protecting Australians from technical risks rather than content. IBRS information security advisor, James Turner, has setup the Website nothingbutnet.net.au to lobby Australian ISPs to provide a safer Internet feed cleansed of known malicious content, like spam and viruses.

• DE - Bundesfamilienministerin fordert Netzsperren gegen Kinderpornographie (Heise)
  Bundesfamilienministerin Ursula von der Leyen will im Kampf gegen Kinderpornographie im Internet deutsche Access-Provider zur Sperre von kinderpornographischen Webseiten verpflichten. Dazu will die Ministerin eine Änderung des Telemediengesetzes durchsetzen. siehe auch Forderung nach Webseiten-Sperrungen entzweit die große Koalition.

• DE - Bundestagsabgeordneter lässt wikipedia.de sperren (Heise)
  Juristischer Ärger für Wikimedia Deutschland. Der Bundestagsabgeordnete Lutz Heilmann (Die Linke) hat gegen den Verein eine Einstweilige Verfügung erwirkt, wonach der Betrieb des Portals wikipedia.de eingestellt werden muss. Der Betrieb der Wikipedia selbst ist von dem Rechtsstreit nicht berührt. Siehe auch Wikipedia-Sperre: Linke distanziert sich von Heilmann (Heise) und Die Fallstricke des Online-Lexikons (Spiegel). See also German MP's Wikipedia Lockdown Unleashes Flood of Donations (Deutsche Welle).

• UK - Industry and government work together to tackle internet terror (Press Release)
  State-of-the art filtering technology will allow parents, schools, businesses and web users to further restrict access to websites advocating or promoting terrorism. Following joint work between the internet industry and government, web users now have the opportunity to download software allowing them to restrict access to websites that may encourage the endorsement or participation in acts of terrorism.

Issue no. 393 - 9 November 2008

• AU - No opt-out of filtered Internet (Computerworld)
  Australians will be unable to opt-out of the government's pending Internet content filtering scheme, and will instead be placed on a watered-down blacklist. Under the government's $125.8 million Plan for Cyber-Safety, users can switch between two blacklists which block content inappropriate for children, and a separate list which blocks illegal material. Pundits say consumers have been lulled into believing the opt-out proviso would remove content filtering altogether. The government will iron-out policy and implementation of the Internet content filtering software following an upcoming trial of the technology, according to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

• TH - Thais block anti-royal websites (BBC)
  The Thai government says it is planning to build an internet firewall to block websites deemed insulting to the country's hugely popular royal family. The Information Ministry says it has received many complaints about such sites, most of which are based abroad. Thailand's royals are supposed to be above politics and are protected by strict laws which prohibit criticism. The Information Ministry says it plans to spend millions of dollars erecting the digital firewall around the country to prevent Thailand's internet users from accessing the controversial sites.

Issue no. 392 - 5 October 2008

• AU - ISP filtering gains momentum (Australin IT)
  The federal Government's plan to implement content filters at the internet service provider level is one step closer to reality with live trials set to commence after next month. The Government will seek expressions of interest in the second half of October for ISPs to participate in live trials.

• SE - TeliaSonera launches child porn blocking service for ISP (Press Release)
  TeliaSonera international Carrier has launched a free service allowing operators and Internet Service Providers the ability to deny their users access to web sites containing child sexual abuse. TeliaSonera International Carrier (TSIC) is a global provider of IP-services with a network spanning around the globe. The service is based on a solution provided by the Swedish company NetClean and uses a dynamic and comprehensive list from the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation. The list contains live child sexual abuse URL's.

Issue no. 391 - 31 August 2008

• AU - New Filter Test by Australian Government Shows Filter Effectiveness (Filtering Facts)
  The Australian Communications and Media Authority released a report on Closed environment testing of ISP-level internet content filtering.  This report presents the findings of the closed environment testing of ISP-level filters conducted in 2008. The trial was conducted in response to a ministerial direction received in June 2007. Among the report's findings: Successful blocking (the proportion of illegal and inappropriate content that should have been blocked that was successfully blocked) was between 88% and 97% with most achieving over 92%. The median rate of successful blocking was improved from the previous trial. Overblocking (the proportion of content that was blocked that should not have been blocked) was between 1% and 6%, with most falling under 3%. The median overblocking rate was significantly improved from the previous trial. 

• DE - BKA fordert Sperrung kinderpornographischer Webseiten (Heise)
  Der Chef des Bundeskriminalamtes (BKA), Jörg Ziercke, hat sich bei der Vorstellung des Lagebilds zur organisierten Kriminalität 2007 dafür ausgesprochen, Internetprovider gesetzlich zur Sperrung von Angeboten mit kinderpornographischen oder fremdenfeindlichen Inhalten zu verpflichten. "Der Großteil der Kinderpornographie wird über kommerzielle Webseiten verwaltet", betonte Ziercke in Berlin. Es gehe dabei um "Millioneneinnahmen". Das "Access-Blocking" könne daher eine "wichtige Maßnahme" sein, um das Geschäft mit Kinderpornographie weniger lukrativ zu machen.

• Review: Livia Web Protection offers the first-rate filtering of Websense for Parents (Filtering Facts)
  Some former Websense managers have started up an Internet security solutions provider called Total Tech. Their product offering is called Livia Web Protection, and it's basically Websense's filtering "in the cloud" - i.e., with the filtering done on remote servers rather than on your desktop. This is a good thing, because filtering databases have become too large and are updated too frequently now to be practical running on individual desktops as they were in the 1990s. This is about the best quality filtering I've seen, blocking everything in my test sample. 

• UK fails to bar internet access to child porn (Observer)
  Some UK households could access websites known to host images of child sex abuse despite a government pledge made two years ago to stop access to paedophile sites. Last night a coalition of leading children's charities, including Barnardo's, the NSPCC and National Children's Homes, described the situation as 'completely unacceptable'. They have written to the Home Office minister in charge of crime reduction, Vernon Coaker, urging him to take immediate steps to ensure all telecom companies offering internet access block customers from being able to see images that in some cases show children as young as a year old being sexually abused. Around 5 per cent of consumer broadband connections can access the images because their internet service providers (ISPs) chose not to subscribe to a scheme introduced by the Internet Watch Foundation to bar known paedophile websites. See open letter to Vernon Coaker.

• US - Cablevision To Block Child Porn Sites - NY AG (Dow Jones)
  Cablevision Systems is the latest Internet provider to reach an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to block access to bulletin boards and Web sites that distribute child pornography. Cuomo said the media and entertainment company has signed his code of conduct, which requires the companies to restrict access by their customers to Web sites and newsgroups - or public bulletin boards where they can upload or download files - that have been identified as sites that disseminate child pornography.

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