[IMC-bristol] Fwd: [Imc-legal] Some more background on the dutch case

[Always Shariff]

Hi All,
A bit of bad news. But so it is. Happy solstice to everyone.
'Avin' it with sadn.......
Always
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--- Henk <henk@waag.org> wrote: From: Henk <henk@waag.org> To:
imc-legal@lists.indymedia.org Subject: [Imc-legal] Some more background on the
dutch case Date: 20 Jun 2002 18:54:03 +0200 

Press release from just before the Lawsuit: 

Lawsuit German Rail against Indymedia: Freedom of the press and the foundations
of the Internet in jeopardy. 

Indymedia NL has been sued by Deutsche Bahn (German Rail, DB). The challenge is
about a news item by Indymedia with links to mirrors of the website 'Radikal',
an activist site which contains articles with criticism to the nuclear
transports of DB. These articles were newsworthy because the judge had ordered
Dutch Internet provider XS4ALL to block access to the articles because of their
unlawful character. 

Indymedia doesn't publish the two disputed articles themselves. The page only
contaisn links to other (third party) websites which do contain the articles.
Interestingly, these links aren't directly to the articles, but only to the
frontpage of Radikal. A visitor should, after following the link on Indymedia
NL, search for the articles and follow at least two more links in order to be
able to view the forbidden articles. 

Crucial in this case is the possible judicial difference between direct and
indirect links. In a 1999 case involving Scientology, a judge decided that a
direct link ("that, on activation, generates a reproduction [of the unlawful
article] on the user's screen") stands equal to publishing an article. No
ruling has been made however on indirect links. Potentially, indirect links
should be treated differently, since these do not "on activation, generate a
reproduction [of the unlawful article] on the user's screen" 

If the judge does not differentiate between direct and indirect links, a
serious hampering of freedom of speech and freedom of the press looms. It would
mean a de facto ban on mentioning sources. Furthermore, a ruling in favour of
DB would curb the Internet, for the foundation of the Internet is a network of
links. 

The case will come before court on tuesday june 4 2002 at 1:30 at the
Parnassusweg 222 in Amsterdam. 

For more information: info@indymedia.nl 


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