CyberLaw Blog

Archive for February 23rd, 2009

YouTube – UK Government plans to criminalise Japanese Anime/Manga fans

The UK Government is planning to outlaw mere possesion of cartoon images that appear sexually explicit IF the persons in them APPEAR to be under 18. How do you tell the age of a cartoon character?…

Totally Tolerant, Up to a Point: “For Geert Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian and film maker, who calls for a ban on the Koran to act as the champion of free speech is a bit rich.”

(Via NYT > Freedom of Speech and Expression.)

Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens: “The recent censoring of a tongue-in-cheek variety show has provoked howls from China’s so-called netizens, critical of their government’s control of the Web.”

(Via NYT > Freedom of Speech and Expression.)

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.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)