OMEN
12-23-2008, 11:19 AM
A Wikipedia article on a German heavy metal band has been blocked in the UK because of child pornography concerns.
The article on the Scorpion's Virgin Killer album was blacklisted by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)because its cover features a nude prepubescent girl.
The foundation's list is widely used by major internet service providers (ISPs) to filter out child pornography and other illegal content.
Adding the site to the list effectively made it inaccessible to the public.
IWF spokeswoman Sarah Robertson estimated that the foundation's list affected 95% of British residential Internet users.
Ms Robertson said she could not explain reports that other parts of the site were difficult to navigate as a result of the block.
"There shouldn't have been any collateral damage," she said, adding that the controversial image was first flagged by an internet user last week.
The ISPs' move angered a number of Wikipedia users who contribute to the site by editing articles - after they discovered their accounts were blocked.
Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation, which manages the encyclopedia, said: "It appears that there's a large number of editors - I can't say all - who appear to have access issues."
Wikipedia volunteer David Gerard said he and fellow users were angry that an encyclopedia article - including text - had been blocked.
"Blocking text is a whole new thing - it's the first time they've done this on such a visible site," he said.
Sky
The article on the Scorpion's Virgin Killer album was blacklisted by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)because its cover features a nude prepubescent girl.
The foundation's list is widely used by major internet service providers (ISPs) to filter out child pornography and other illegal content.
Adding the site to the list effectively made it inaccessible to the public.
IWF spokeswoman Sarah Robertson estimated that the foundation's list affected 95% of British residential Internet users.
Ms Robertson said she could not explain reports that other parts of the site were difficult to navigate as a result of the block.
"There shouldn't have been any collateral damage," she said, adding that the controversial image was first flagged by an internet user last week.
The ISPs' move angered a number of Wikipedia users who contribute to the site by editing articles - after they discovered their accounts were blocked.
Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation, which manages the encyclopedia, said: "It appears that there's a large number of editors - I can't say all - who appear to have access issues."
Wikipedia volunteer David Gerard said he and fellow users were angry that an encyclopedia article - including text - had been blocked.
"Blocking text is a whole new thing - it's the first time they've done this on such a visible site," he said.
Sky