Joker.com, a German domain name seller, has been ordered to
disable the registration of a US-based on-line photo gallery
featuring shocking images from autopsies and medical procedures,
following a public prosecutor's order, according to CNet News.
In May 2002, the Ogrish.com web site posted 4-minute video clip
of reporter Daniel Pearl being brutally murdered. The order to
disable the site's domain name was apparently made by the
Dusseldorf public prosecutor.
The domain name is to an individual with an Amsterdam address.
At the time of writing, it redirects traffic to the new host of the
site, US-based prohosters.com.
A message displayed at the site, which appears to be from
Joker.com, suggests the name will be frozen and that the owner will
need to take up any complaint with the German Government.
The district government of Dusseldorf county in Germany passed
in 2001 regulations requiring more than 80 ISPs to filter web
content and block access to certain foreign web sites. The measure
initially targeted US-based hate speech sites.
German ISPs and civil rights advocates have claimed that the
measure is in sharp contrast with German legislation and a
unanimous declaration of the European Parliament against the use of
blocking as a means of regulating internet content.
