Updates to this story
In Germany, a few blogs and websites have already decided to throw in the towel before a law comes into effect from January 1, 2011. The so-called Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (JMStV) will task anyone operating a .de domain with adding an age certificate to his or her website - imagine having to add a BBFC certificate on your blog.
Sounds like a dumb idea, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it is set to become reality due to politicians ratifying the law in the parliaments of Germany's 16 federal states.
Not only is the law idiotic, it is also totally superfluous. Age verification processes are already in place for German smut peddlers, which require users to have their age and identity checked to make sure they're not simply using dad's credit card. Verification using Deutsche Post's Postident identity check is the preferred method.
Yet one not need reckon with the common sense of politicians, pedagogues and demagogues who think existing, national laws governing movies and telly can also be slapped on the global internet that never sleeps.
As a consequence, popular German blog VZlog.de has said it will go offline on New Year's Eve. VZlog.de states it doesn't have the resources to check all of its content and comments, nor does it have the technical resources to slap an 18 certificate on it, make certain its readers are 18 and above using Postident, or simply put the site online at midnight and take it offline again in the early hours.
The blog, which covers popular German social notworking sites meinvz, studivz and schülervz and hailed by media pedagogues and officials, is mainly read by youngsters. Seventy percent of its readers are are under 18, its authors are ages 14 to 19, it is ad financed and will now be going offline.
It seems politicians don't believe kids and teenagers in Germany have the level of competency to use the internet properly and so must be protected from it, despite clearly demonstrating the contrary.
It seems the only people set to profit are lawyers, who are going to have a field day next year. Lawyers are expected to start sending out cease and desist letters to websites, telling them they're breaking the law and have to pay a couple of thousand euros.
Germany's Bürger haven't wakened up to the law as of yet, due to it being a contract ratified by the country's federal states, not a law passed in the Bundestag. The last bastion is Northrhine-Westphalia, currently under minority rule by a social democratic SPD/ Green coalition.
Unfortunately, the Green faction has stated it will vote for the law, despite the party council telling them not to.
Things are looking bleak in Germany if even the Greens, a party apparently devoted to civil liberties, votes for such an embarrassingly stupid law.
I've been asked by my friends in the UK not to shut down my current blog (I'm a Brit living in Germany) so I've pixeld the whole bloody thing.
Ta Ta.
Another censor-law has been released, but is - as german politicians aussured - not in charge! Nevertheless ist exists und can be used for blacklisting every site they want to. German Hastag for this law ist #zensursula. It has been made for blocking site, that show (public) child absuse.
The same law will became europeen law. Look for Cencilia Malmström (#censilia) who support the law in EU. German politicians criminalize people who are against the law, by making them supporters of pedophil actions.
Walk on by... and check up the blogosphere in some years. Critics will become more silent. Less whisleblowing...no background informations.
The Bilderberg Group has been unmask by blogosphere. It must not happens again, might somebody think.
For one thing, the age certificate will be implemented by means of meta tags which are then read by protection software parents need to install on their kids' computers. Any site that is not tagged will simply not be shown by the software. However, anyone who chooses not to use this software in the first place will be able to see the entire WWW as it was before.
Tagging is only required by those sites that offer explicit kids' content or explicit adult content. Udo Vetter, one of our most famous lawyers for web affairs has explained the details as well as the consequences of the above-mentioned law for the average German blogger:
http://www.lawblog.de/index.php/archives/2010/12/01/warum-blogger-gelassen-bleiben-konnen/
Further information can be found here: https://www.fsm.de/de/jmstv-2011
there is not much new in it.
It mostly clarifies existing laws.
The new part is that you get "one free strike" which is a huge improvement and keeps the lawyers off your back.
It also reiterates on the fact that only commercial sites and sites _aimed_ at minors need to implement the classification.
I'm usually the first to petition against something like this, but this time they actually did it right.
What counts as a commercial site? If someone sticks AdSense on their blog does that make it commercial?
Maybe for animals and plants, but not for humans. The Greens are a gang of eco-nazis, crazier than the originals, who were all insane asylum escapees.