contrary to the Swiss constitution, which guarantees ‘‘the right to receive information
freely, to gather it from generally accessible sources and to disseminate it’’ to every person. 46 Nevertheless, the order was enforced, and directors of noncompliant ISPs were
asked to appear personally in court, or they would risk facing charges.
On March 7, 2007, Turkey forced ISPs to block YouTube after several videos were
posted denigrating Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatu ¨rk, and the Turkish
flag. In blocking the Web site, Turkish officials invoked Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code, which criminalizes insults toward Atatu ¨rk as well as ‘‘Turkishness.’’ Turkey’s
leading ISP, TurkTelecom, complied with the order but petitioned the court to allow
access to the Web site to be restored. The court agreed on the condition that the particular videos be removed. The two-day blocking was heavily criticized both within
Turkey and abroad, and likened to ‘‘closing a library because of a single book that was
found to be improper.’’ 47 Yet YouTube and similar Web sites were again blocked in
March 2008 for hosting content insulting to Atatu ¨rk. 48
Hate Speech
Within Europe there is a general consensus in favor of censoring anti-Semitic or
Holocaust-denying speech online. Where individual states have more expansive antihate regimes, they have enforced those laws, with some success, at the national level.
In 2000, a French court ruled that U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc. was liable under French law
for allowing the people of France access to auction Web sites that included Nazi memorabilia and demanded that Yahoo block this content in France or face fines. 49 Yahoo
brought a suit in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming that the French court’s
ruling was unenforceable in the United States. The U.S. court ruled in Yahoo’s favor in
November 2001, 50 but in 2004 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that
ruling on the grounds that it did not have sufficient jurisdiction over the French parties. 51 After rehearing the case en banc, the appeals court dismissed Yahoo’s case in
January 2006. 52 Though split, the court reasoned that the fact that Yahoo had complied voluntarily and removed the offending content precluded claims as to a possible
violation of the right to freedom of expression. 53
Similarly, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled in December 2000 that material
glorifying the Nazis and denying the Holocaust must be censored as per German law,
regardless of where it is hosted. 54 In 2002, the Bezirksregierung Du ¨sseldorf (district government) obliged 56 ISPs to restrict access to four foreign Web sites. 55 The attempts to
block access have attracted nationwide attention and met fierce opposition from users
and service providers. 56 However, neither political demonstrations nor lawsuits have
been successful in stopping the blockade. By the end of 2005, 76 Internet service providers had been required to block the named Web sites. 57
Germany has engaged in other efforts to combat hate speech. According to one study
published by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society in 2002, about 91 Web
Europe Overview
285
freely, to gather it from generally accessible sources and to disseminate it’’ to every person. 46 Nevertheless, the order was enforced, and directors of noncompliant ISPs were
asked to appear personally in court, or they would risk facing charges.
On March 7, 2007, Turkey forced ISPs to block YouTube after several videos were
posted denigrating Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatu ¨rk, and the Turkish
flag. In blocking the Web site, Turkish officials invoked Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code, which criminalizes insults toward Atatu ¨rk as well as ‘‘Turkishness.’’ Turkey’s
leading ISP, TurkTelecom, complied with the order but petitioned the court to allow
access to the Web site to be restored. The court agreed on the condition that the particular videos be removed. The two-day blocking was heavily criticized both within
Turkey and abroad, and likened to ‘‘closing a library because of a single book that was
found to be improper.’’ 47 Yet YouTube and similar Web sites were again blocked in
March 2008 for hosting content insulting to Atatu ¨rk. 48
Hate Speech
Within Europe there is a general consensus in favor of censoring anti-Semitic or
Holocaust-denying speech online. Where individual states have more expansive antihate regimes, they have enforced those laws, with some success, at the national level.
In 2000, a French court ruled that U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc. was liable under French law
for allowing the people of France access to auction Web sites that included Nazi memorabilia and demanded that Yahoo block this content in France or face fines. 49 Yahoo
brought a suit in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming that the French court’s
ruling was unenforceable in the United States. The U.S. court ruled in Yahoo’s favor in
November 2001, 50 but in 2004 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that
ruling on the grounds that it did not have sufficient jurisdiction over the French parties. 51 After rehearing the case en banc, the appeals court dismissed Yahoo’s case in
January 2006. 52 Though split, the court reasoned that the fact that Yahoo had complied voluntarily and removed the offending content precluded claims as to a possible
violation of the right to freedom of expression. 53
Similarly, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled in December 2000 that material
glorifying the Nazis and denying the Holocaust must be censored as per German law,
regardless of where it is hosted. 54 In 2002, the Bezirksregierung Du ¨sseldorf (district government) obliged 56 ISPs to restrict access to four foreign Web sites. 55 The attempts to
block access have attracted nationwide attention and met fierce opposition from users
and service providers. 56 However, neither political demonstrations nor lawsuits have
been successful in stopping the blockade. By the end of 2005, 76 Internet service providers had been required to block the named Web sites. 57
Germany has engaged in other efforts to combat hate speech. According to one study
published by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society in 2002, about 91 Web
Europe Overview
285