Post by DirtyDon on Mar 26, 2008 3:40:44 GMT -6
Network Solutions Pre-Censors Anti-Islam Site
Web site name registrar Network Solutions is blocking access to a site
owned by a controversial Dutch politician known for his confrontational views about Islam and Muslim immigrants. The move by one of the largest companies in the domain registration business is notable, experts say, because it may be the first documented case of Internet pre-censorship by a major U.S.-based Web registrar.
The site in question is fitnathemovie.com, which is registered by Dutch Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders. Wilders has said that he planned to post a short film on the site designed to rally support for banning the Koran in Holland. Wilders has said that Islam's holy scripture urges followers to commit violent acts.
Network Solutions imposed its block on Wilders's site Saturday evening, at which time it hosted little more than an image of the Koran on its homepage. But a company spokeswoman said Sunday evening that Network Solutions decided to pull the plug on it due to the potential unrest that could follow if Wilders followed through on his pledge to post his film on the site.
Network Solutions spokeswoman Susan Wade said the company has received numerous complaints about the Web site over the past three weeks, though she declined to discuss the exact number or nature of those complaints. She said the company was still investigating whether the site violated its acceptable use policy. In the meantime, she said, a decision was made to deactive the site given the potential violence that the movie could spark. She said Wilders could still access the site himself and was free to move or redirect its content to another domain.
"When you look at the history and violence surrounding this particular situation...some of the bad things that have happened or could happen, that was part of what we were thinking in suspending the Web site," Wade said. "We felt it was best to take it down while we continued our investigation."
Prior to the site's shuttering this weekend, its only content was a picture of a gilded Koran along with the text "Allahu Akhbar," (God is Great), and the words "Geert Wilders presents Fitna - Coming Soon."
The action comes after weeks of speculation about the movie's content and its potential for sparking violent protests and outbursts of the kind that followed the 2006 publication in several European newspapers of political cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that many Muslims found offensive. Earlier this month, NATO's secretary general said he was concerned that the Wilders movie could foment anger that could translate into added danger for troops in Afghanistan. Protests against the Wilders film occurred this past weekend there, according to Reuters.
Wilders, who was elected to the Dutch parliament on an anti-immigration platform, had planned to air the video online after being turned down by television networks. Wilders could not be immediately reached for comment.
Wade said the company hadn't received any specific threats regarding the site, but that Network Solutions employees had been reminded this week about observing regular physical safety and security measures at work.
"We're taking precautions like we would in any situation," Wade said. "We reminded employees that it is everyone's duty to make sure they badge-in, those kinds of general things."
Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attoney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said it was the first case he'd heard of in which a U.S.-based registrar had preemptively suspended a domain name for violating its use policy. Still, he said, most registrars' acceptable-use policies reserve for them right to cut off service to almost any customer for nearly any reason.
"If you're lucky, the contract might provide that you get a partial refund for the portion of the domain registration that you haven't used," von Lohmann said. "That's probably the best you can hope for."
To me, this raises the question of what Network Solutions would do if dozens of people who'd registered domains through the company spontaneously decided to mirror the controversial movie once it goes live. Wade declined to speculate on such a situation, saying the company would respond to each complaint on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, there must be other sites registered by the company that host content that violates the company's AUP or would be seen as offensive to some individual or group.
If it's not patently illegal material, where does a registrar draw the line? Is Network Solutions opening a can of worms here? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
By Brian Krebs | March 23, 2008; 10:36 PM ET From the Bunker
Source:
blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/03/networksolutions_precensors_an.html?hpid=sec-tech
Web site name registrar Network Solutions is blocking access to a site
owned by a controversial Dutch politician known for his confrontational views about Islam and Muslim immigrants. The move by one of the largest companies in the domain registration business is notable, experts say, because it may be the first documented case of Internet pre-censorship by a major U.S.-based Web registrar.
The site in question is fitnathemovie.com, which is registered by Dutch Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders. Wilders has said that he planned to post a short film on the site designed to rally support for banning the Koran in Holland. Wilders has said that Islam's holy scripture urges followers to commit violent acts.
Network Solutions imposed its block on Wilders's site Saturday evening, at which time it hosted little more than an image of the Koran on its homepage. But a company spokeswoman said Sunday evening that Network Solutions decided to pull the plug on it due to the potential unrest that could follow if Wilders followed through on his pledge to post his film on the site.
Network Solutions spokeswoman Susan Wade said the company has received numerous complaints about the Web site over the past three weeks, though she declined to discuss the exact number or nature of those complaints. She said the company was still investigating whether the site violated its acceptable use policy. In the meantime, she said, a decision was made to deactive the site given the potential violence that the movie could spark. She said Wilders could still access the site himself and was free to move or redirect its content to another domain.
"When you look at the history and violence surrounding this particular situation...some of the bad things that have happened or could happen, that was part of what we were thinking in suspending the Web site," Wade said. "We felt it was best to take it down while we continued our investigation."
Prior to the site's shuttering this weekend, its only content was a picture of a gilded Koran along with the text "Allahu Akhbar," (God is Great), and the words "Geert Wilders presents Fitna - Coming Soon."
The action comes after weeks of speculation about the movie's content and its potential for sparking violent protests and outbursts of the kind that followed the 2006 publication in several European newspapers of political cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that many Muslims found offensive. Earlier this month, NATO's secretary general said he was concerned that the Wilders movie could foment anger that could translate into added danger for troops in Afghanistan. Protests against the Wilders film occurred this past weekend there, according to Reuters.
Wilders, who was elected to the Dutch parliament on an anti-immigration platform, had planned to air the video online after being turned down by television networks. Wilders could not be immediately reached for comment.
Wade said the company hadn't received any specific threats regarding the site, but that Network Solutions employees had been reminded this week about observing regular physical safety and security measures at work.
"We're taking precautions like we would in any situation," Wade said. "We reminded employees that it is everyone's duty to make sure they badge-in, those kinds of general things."
Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attoney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said it was the first case he'd heard of in which a U.S.-based registrar had preemptively suspended a domain name for violating its use policy. Still, he said, most registrars' acceptable-use policies reserve for them right to cut off service to almost any customer for nearly any reason.
"If you're lucky, the contract might provide that you get a partial refund for the portion of the domain registration that you haven't used," von Lohmann said. "That's probably the best you can hope for."
To me, this raises the question of what Network Solutions would do if dozens of people who'd registered domains through the company spontaneously decided to mirror the controversial movie once it goes live. Wade declined to speculate on such a situation, saying the company would respond to each complaint on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, there must be other sites registered by the company that host content that violates the company's AUP or would be seen as offensive to some individual or group.
If it's not patently illegal material, where does a registrar draw the line? Is Network Solutions opening a can of worms here? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
By Brian Krebs | March 23, 2008; 10:36 PM ET From the Bunker
Source:
blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/03/networksolutions_precensors_an.html?hpid=sec-tech