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BUNDESFREIHEIT FOR AMERICA?
Berlin
police-state official wants
German
official to visit U.S. in effort to shut down hate sites By NED STAFFORD, Newsbytes BERLIN—Otto Schily, Germany's interior minister, has not been able to finalize plans for his trip to Washington this autumn to lobby U.S. officials for help in shutting down German-language hate Web sites hosted in the U.S., according to his spokesman. In a German newspaper interview earlier this month, Schily said he would travel to Washington in September to talk with U.S. officials. However, in an interview this week with Newsbytes, spokesman Dirk Inger indicated that Schily might not meet the September deadline. Inger said final plans had not been completed for the trip, and would say only that the visit would take place "in autumn." The spectacle of the German Interior Minister lobbying U.S. officials to close Web sites hosted in the U.S.—albeit sites that most people would find disgusting—is likely to catch the attention of American free speech advocates who believe that even hate speech should be protected. Inger indicated that Schily was fully aware that many Americans believe that right-wing hate material should be protected by the First Amendment right to free speech, and added that Schily would respond to those concerns. But when asked what arguments Schily might use to persuade Americans to prohibit German language hate Web sites from being hosted in the U.S., Inger said: "He will explain that to the people when he visits the U.S. I do not want to comment on it before." In the newspaper interview earlier this month, Schily said one possible weapon that might be used to close down German language hate sites hosted in the U.S. might be civil lawsuits filed in U.S. courts. Although Germany has strong laws protecting the right of free speech, anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi and hate speech is illegal. Inger, in his talk with Newsbytes, was tight-lipped. He would reveal only that Schily was in discussions to set up meetings in the U.S., but declined to name the officials or even which departments of the U.S. government Schily has contacted. "There is nothing secret about this," he said. "But we will not discuss this in public until final plans are made." Plans should be completed within two to three weeks, he said. When asked whether Schily would meet with a variety of people, from both the private and public sector, Inger said: "His trip is going to last a few days. I would not imagine that he is going to meet with only one person or one organization." German and other European officials in the past have expressed annoyance at the ability of hate groups to host Web sites in the U.S. directed toward Europeans. Last year, a French judge ruled that Yahoo must block the sale of Nazi material in France. And in a current case, a French human rights group has asked the same judge to force French Internet service providers to block certain Web sites hosted by the U.S.-based Front14.org portal. Also
ist das die 'Freiheit'! |
