Sunday 17 January 2010

The sheer futility of Internet censorship - mind numbingly stupid racist webpage still exists


At the end of last week Granny Herald mentioned that Google had taken down a website at the request of an Australian citizen:
"Google has agreed to take down links to a website that promotes racist views of indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal man Steve Hodder-Watt recently discovered the US-based site by searching "Aboriginal and Encyclopedia" in the search engine.
He tried to modify the entry on Encyclopedia Dramatica, a satirical and extremely racist version of Wikipedia, but was blocked from doing so.
Mr Hodder-Watt then undertook legal action, that resulted in Google acknowledging its legal responsibility to remove the offensive site.
His lawyer, George Newhouse, said the site was "one of the most offensive sorts of racial vilification you could possibly find".
"It portrays indigenous Australians in the most unsavoury light possible, and you wouldn't want a child stumbling across it," he told ABC Radio.
Mr Newhouse said Google agreed to take the link down after he filed an official complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission."
I imagine that this news report gave Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy a warm fuzzy feeling in the middle of his little tum tum. The good ship HMAS Censorship was afloat.
Except that the Google search engine index still contains links to the website, as well as at least one direct link to the offending webpage along with cache {and no, I won't link to it because it's too bluidy ripe} and the entire page can be easily viewed again as it's internally linked from the website's homepage.
Not only that, but now this supposedly censored page contains a very offensive cartoon of the man who complained to Google Inc.
According to the relevant Google search results; "In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 4 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org" and "we have removed 1 result(s) from this page" appear.
Chilling Effects displays a letter which states; "Google received a complaint about a website that allegedly violates the Australian Anti Discrimination Act. Accordingly, Google removed the website from Google.com.au".
However, three days later and I'm able to view the updated nasty, spiteful webpage with ease on Google.com.au.
By the end of this week I expect that there will be other links to this alleged satire growing out there in cyberspace, as it is already starting off with well over 3,000 sites (including Twitter) linking in from Uzbekistan through to China, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
If Google can't effectively censor the dynamic World Wide Web, what hope do you think you have, Stevo?

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