UK: Several Internet Service Providers (ISP) blocked a page from Wikipedia about a German rock band due to alleged obscenity.
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an organization which overlooks web contents, warned the ISP companies that a photo of a naked girl posted on The Scorpions Wiki page is illegal.
The controversial image was an album cover from the rock band which was released in 1976 with a title Virgin Killer.
In response to this clampdown, the online encyclopedia criticized the ISP companies and IWF saying that site visitors are unable to edit the said Wiki page which also affected the site’s performance.
According to IWF, posting a naked body of a minor is illegal, prompting them to include The Scorpion Wiki page to its blacklisted websites. The Internet watchdog also said that it informed its partner overseas, without stating the name of the organization, adding that it also informed its law enforcement collaborator which will then warn ISP companies from overseas regarding the controversial Wiki entry.
The IWF blacklisted websites are voluntarily blocked by almost 95 percent of British ISP companies.
The site criticized the actions of ISP companies saying that these have not just blocked the girl’s naked photo but also the entire article, reiterating that the image is not considered illegal in some parts of the world.
The online-based encyclopedia also accused the IWF that its decision was based on its attempt to prohibit site visitors from editing Wikipedia pages.
In a statement, Sue Gardner, head of Wikimedia Foundation which owns the online encyclopedia, said that IWF is depriving British Internet users with their right of free access to information, urging the watchdog to lift the site from its blacklist.
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