CompuServe ban threatens Net freedom
By Richard Morochove
First published January 4, 1996
Last week saw the latest government attempt to limit access to the Internet. Even though the government involved is a state of Germany, the response affects Canadians who use the CompuServe online service.
This episode raises concerns about the freedom of online expression. Government and private enterprise are moving into ad hoc regulation of the Internet, without prior public discussion of the implications.
On Dec. 27 CompuServe, based in Columbus, Ohio, suspended subscriber access to more than 200 Usenet newsgroups, primarily those of a sexual nature. This move came in response to a request from the Bavarian state prosecutor's office in Germany. According to the prosecutors, messages in the banned newsgroups are illegal under German law.
Although CompuServe did not release a list, the banned groups apparently include 15 gay-net groups as well as alt.religion.sexuality, alt.politics.sex, alt.support.disabled.sexuality, soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi, shamash.gayjews and many others.
CompuServe didn't stop at restricting its 220,000 subscribers in Germany. It pulled the plug on all 4 million members, located in more than 140 countries worldwide. The online service stated it wasn't technically feasible to target only German subscribers, although it was working toward this goal.
Banning 200 out of the more than 10,000 Usenet newsgroups shows a lack of understanding of the technology.
The contents of each newsgroup aren't determined by governments or by CompuServe. Users decide what messages to post to which newsgroups.
During the manslaughter trial of Karla Homolka, information covered by the media ban was discussed in the newsgroup ironically named alt.fan.karla-homolka. In the event the newsgroup was banned, contributors discussed a contingency plan to cross-post messages to other, unrelated, Canadian newsgroups.
So CompuServe's ban of the newsgroups may propagate these messages more widely than before. Damming the flow of information in the Internet is like trying to hold back a flood with a dike made of Swiss cheese.
This isn't the first time CompuServe has bowed to pressure from Germany. A couple of years ago, the online service removed a shareware computer game from its downloadable archives. German authorities believed the game glorified Nazism, an offence under German law.
CompuServe isn't the only online service to censor information available to subscribers. Recently, America Online, the largest online service, developed a list of naughty words. Software ensured that messages using these off-color words could not be posted.
Survivors of breast cancer could no longer discuss the disease online. According to the nasty word list, breast cancer was obscene. Presumably, it was perfectly alright to talk about hooters cancer.
I have no problem with online services that offer parental controls, giving guardians the ability to restrict what their children can see. Both America Online and Prodigy, an online service jointly owned by IBM and Sears, offer this feature. Software designed to do the same for newsgroups and Web sites on the Internet is also available.
However, I do object to limiting what adults may read on the Internet.
Messages in newsgroups aren't foisted on an unsuspecting reader. In order to view these messages, you need a computer set up with the proper newsreader software. You must be connected to an online service. You need to specify the name of the newsgroup you want to read. Under these circumstances, anyone surprised by the messages would also be shocked to learn that Canadian Tire sells tires.
This time, the censorship of CompuServe is clearly apparent because it applies to every subscriber around the world. If the company modifies its software so it can easily turn off the flow of information nation by nation, how many of us will defend the loss of freedom of speech in some far-off land?
This time, it's a couple of hundred sexual discussion groups that are affected. Who will defend the right to read these groups? Among the many thousands of messages on the 200 banned newsgroups, there are undoubtedly messages that some readers would consider obscene. Yet the vast majority are not.
This time, it's Germany that wants to ban frank discussions among the disabled, gays and gay Jews. Who will defend the rights of these groups? The Internet is new technology, but these actions are sad echos of attitudes that prevailed in Germany some sixty years ago. Even more shameful are the actions of the American company that capitulated to these demands, without a fight.
Next time, who will it be?
You can have an effect, if you make an effort. Make your
opinion known, particularly if you're a CompuServe subscriber.
When online, type GO FEEDBACK and send E-mail. If you prefer to
attack the problem at the source, write to the German embassy in
Ottawa or the nearest German consulate.