66 alt.binaries.* groups
alt.homosexual
2 alt.magick.sex[.*] groups
alt.motss.bisexua-l
alt.politics.sex
2 alt.recovery.* groups
alt.religion.sexuality
130 alt.sex[.*] groups
alt.sexy.bald.captains
alt.stories.erotic
alt.support.disabled.sexuality
alt.tv.tiny-toon.sex
3 clari.* groups pertaining to sex & lbg news
de.sex
de.talk.sex
es.alt.sexo
2 fido.* groups with "sex" in their names
6 fido7.* groups with "sex" in their names
15 gay-net.* groups
rec.arts.erotica
shamash.gayjews
slo.sex
soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi
2 t-netz.sex groups
ucb.erotica.sensual
uw.alt.sex.*
zer.t-netz.sex
CONTACT:
William Giles, Russ Robinson
CompuServe Incorporated
(614) 538-4388, (614) 538-4274
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1995 -- During the past week, CompuServe Incorporated temporarily suspended access to more than 200 Internet newsgroups in response to a direct mandate from the prosecutors office in Germany. Each of the newsgroups that was suspended was specifically identified to CompuServe by the German authorities as illegal under German criminal law. CompuServe did not select any groups or determine the nature of the newsgroups that have been impacted by this action.
German government officials, as part of an investigation of illegal material on the Internet, ordered CompuServe to do what was necessary with respect to specified newsgroups in order to comply with German law. German authorities are investigating newsgroups and other Internet content that may contain child pornography, other pornographic material illegal for to adults, as well as content that although not illegal for adults is of such an explicit nature that it is illegal for minors.
While access has been suspended, CompuServe continues to work with German authorities to resolve this matter. CompuServe cannot alter the content on the Internet in any way and has only suspended access to the disputed newsgroups through CIS. The issues being investigated in Germany, like those being addressed across the industry, need to remain focused on the individuals and groups placing content on the Internet. CompuServe, as an access provider, is not responsible for the origination or nature of content on the Internet over which it has no creative or editorial control.
The global market is vital to CompuServe. We currently have 500,000 members in Western Europe and anticipate doubling that number in the next year. As the leading global service, CompuServe must comply with the laws of the many countries in which we operate. However, laws in different countries are often in conflict, and this creates new challenges unique to the emerging online industry. CompuServe is investigating ways in which we can restrict user access to selected newsgroups by geographical location.
CompuServe is an H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) company.
Founded in 1955, H&R Block is a diversified services company and the world's leader in tax preparation and online information services. H&R Block Tax Services handled almost one in every seven returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service in 1995, serving 17.1 million taxpayers in more than 9,500 offices worldwide. CompuServe operates the most comprehensive online network in the world, providing services to nearly 900 corporate accounts and more than 4 million users in more than 140 countries.
Abstracts of "Die Tageszeitung", front page story, dec. 30.
"The Bavarian department of public prosecution 'has left it to their discretion' to take the 'necessary steps' on their own, to avoid 'possible punishability of the management in Germany'. An advice that CompuServe has followed although there is no kind of legal obligation for it. Legally, it is still perfectly unclear if enterprises that provide access to the Internet can be held responsible in any way for the contents distributed there."
And the comment by a lawyer:
"Reality cannot be outlawed, only improved, and many still hope that
complete freedom of information and opinion in computer networks can
contribute to that. But the company of CompuServe does not seem to
be interested in that. They only want their customers' money, but
not their freedom. [...] Like any censorhip, this one comes with
hipocrisy. Towards their paying customers, CompuServe claims to have
been forced by German prosecutors. Thus one lie creates another.
That they were forced it out of the question. It is only in
dictatorships that the prosecutors judge the defendants - that is why
dictatorships need censors."
A lawyer wrote in c't magazine that seizing BBS hardware is illegal as the police could as well make a copy of the HD. The prosecutors argue that system errors or stolen passwords may cause children to recieve pornographic pictures. However, courts have decided that children's access to BTX (German Minitel) with their parents' passwords is in the parents' responsibility, not Telekom's. The c't author calls the Bavarian police action an "inquisition against BBSs".
French newspaper Le Monde ran a back-page story about the case on Dec. 30. The headline takes the CIs press release as granted : "Le gouvernement allemand censure la pornographie sur le reseau Internet -- Le serveur americain Compuserve est contraint de suspendre l'acces a plus de 200 "forums"."
It says that "the seizure order in the Compuserve-Germany HQ, after an inquiry made by the Munich Prosecutor Manfred Wick, is symbolic. This act of censorship is the first a State has ever made on the Internet, well before the US Congress, which is preparing a law forbidding pornography on the network of networks."
In 1994, a Task Force called "AG EDV" was set up by the Bavarian Minister of Interior at the Police Headquarters in Munich. Initially, the Task Force was formed to search persons dealing with pornographic material via BTX the former online service of German Telekom and its work was limited to one year.
For the moment, investigations of this Task Force ran successfully due to the assistance of Telekom. But simultaneously, people being suspected changed their ways of distributing either to closed BBS systems or chose more secret methods. So the Task Force was compelled to enhance their efforts and they raided Munich BBS systems. Furthermore, they studied computer magazines to find ads for pornographic CD-ROMs. During this operation they found what they were looking for, and "PC Direkt", a Ziff Davis publication, and some other magazine were forced to pulp some issues.
All activities of the Task Force could not have happened, if they were not supported by a whole bunch of local prosecutors and judges. Sticking together, chatting, doing favours forms a part of the social life in Munich - in malicious words - the 'Munich swamp'.
The prevailing opinion of the Task Force and of some prosecutors is that carriers of digital information could held responsible for the content of what they are spreading. This meaning matches exactly the content of the CDA. But this is only one point of view. Up to now, there doesn't exist any law or direction in Germany concerning responsibilities of ISPs or online services regarding contents they only do deliver. And so, judges decide from case to case. The German department of justice thinks that carriers could be held responsible if they deliver illegal content "deliberately". But then, could one call them "carriers"?
Last summer, a kind of hysteria about Internet pornography broke out in German media. A few journalist had made their first steps in the Internet and discovered nasty postings in the alt.binaries.pictures.erotica Usenet hierarchy. A student of Erlangen University was seized because of spreading child porn via Usenet. Then, the "Time" article about Internet porn was published and quoted by nearly every German newspaper.
I think at that time the Task Force planned to investigate the Usenet. Due to the facts that CIS had become a big ISP and their German office is located in Munich, CIS seemed to be a worthwhile target. Somehow the Task Force managed to get a search warrant to investigate the Munich CIS office on November, 22nd. However, the search was more or less like a visit. Let me quote the public prosecutor: CompuServe "was quite cooperative". "We sat together talking about chances to kick pornographic contents out of CompuServe's information system." The police officers just collected a copy of the CompuServe association contract and the address of the CEO.
Two days later, CompuServe's German managers published that they "will do anything to support the work of German authorities fighting against pornography in Cyberspace". On December, 8th, CIS was handled a list of more than 200 newsgroups by the Task Force. In my opinion, interpreting the prosecutor and the CIS spokeswoman, this list was presented to CIS as containing "suspicious newsgroups". In the attached letter from the prosecutor it is said: "... it is left to CompuServe to take the necessary steps to avoid possible liabilities to punishment."
So, if CompuServe should have ever had threats, it could have been only very small ones. But there is no reason to their German management to risk anything. CompuServe's approach is not to guarantee for "freedom of speech and information" but to make "money".
When I interviewed the prosecutor, it soon became quite clear that his department had tried to bring CIS to court to get its legal position checked by some judges. Because of CIS servile tactics they had to give up their goal.
The ominous list itself shows, how ignorant the members of the Task Force are about the Usenet. In my opinion, they just sampled all newsgroups containing words like "sex", "erotic", "gay" and so on and put the result onto the list.