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Flickr censorship protest

by net_efekt | June 15, 2007 at 06:21 am

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In just the last 2 days there's been a massive online revolt at flickr's mismanagement of their new language versions... and nobody seems to be reporting it? Are all the media owned by Yahoo?

If you think I'm just some random nutter, check out Der Spiegel Online, a big German news publication: http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,488542,00.html (providing you can read German).

Me? I'm not really affected (UK based) but hate the idea of Yahoo, Google et all of stooping to the lowest common denominator. What happended to the great US idea of freedom? My badge for the protest: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/546878452/

Join the protest, as this is probably the first step of a global implementation of new censorship software technology.

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Brian A Kennedy

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:28 on June 15th, 2007

net_efekt, we've been reporting on this for a while (check out this story for example) but it's good for us to keep pounding on the subject. Thanks for posting this!

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:12 on June 15th, 2007

Thanks for posting this... even if it doesn't affect us directly at first, web users, we all have to be aware of the thin edge of the wedge.

Groudy.Blue

at 12:23 on June 15th, 2007

here you find my photos for the protest (I'm based in Italy)http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiaramarra/549804598/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiaramarra/547407232/. I'm sorry for an exellent Gamma web service like flickr influenced by some problem of censorship: I'm right for a security against photo abuses (child pornography and similar) but I don't approve that german,korean and people from Hong Kong and Singapore can have the same rights of all the others: that's a big shame of Web 2.0.

Here, press don't express a lot of opinion on it, in these moment I found just an article on google italian web page about it.

I think that the great problem is to establish a borderline: where the liberty of expression finish and when the abuse start?

babblingdweeb

at 12:51 on June 15th, 2007

"I think that the great problem is to establish a borderline: where the liberty of expression finish and when the abuse start?"

I think you have a valid point, the problem is who do we get to decide the global laws/rules for the Internet? I am a huge supporter of the Internet being a non-policed service, however, there is little we can do from governments blocking Flickr or sections of the Internet -that's a country infrastructure issue. In this case, we have only a mild amount of power -not because we can't protest- but because the rules for most businesses are the same: if you want to play in our country, you have to abide by our rules. That's what Germany is telling Yahoo and Yahoo is telling Flickr...and Flickr is telling us.

The community spoke against Flickr when they made their users switch to Yahoo IDs (and the debate over the Yahoo ToS still continues!). They spoke out again with NISPA accounts, filtered images and deleted comments. I think Flickr is on their way to owning up to this issue with Germany -in many ways they did already. However, owning up and finding a remedy are two different things. I have my fingers crossed that more information about this issue comes out within the next week so a a community [Flickr] we can learn the whole story.

Thanks for taking the time to comment on the story!

net_efekt

at 10:14 on June 17th, 2007

The most interesting thing is that if you buy a normal German magazine like Der Stern or Bild magazine - they'll have a nude woman posing on it's cover. And if you go to the Englischer Garten in Munich (in the summer) there are loads of nudists sunbathing. Same as in Berlin etc. So nudity itself isn't a big problemin Germany. Interpreting Germany's decency laws however seems to be a problem for flickr.

Wouldn't it have been much better if they'd flouted the 'law' as they see it, and been challenged by the German courts? Then they would have appeared as the champions of flickr users and of freedom.

However, they - like Yahoo and Google have done in China etc - put their initial profit/business BEFORE their users. And that is a big breach of trust.

So in many ways, this protest needs to make a real impact. Then internet companies might change their attitude ie. 'our users are the most important people - governments and their sensitivities come second'. After all, we all want our freedom, and these companies (mostly US companies) are meant to represent this freedom.

If we allow censorship to go unchecked, then this will only be the beginning of many other types of censorship... and we end up in a world not so different to what it was 60 years ago.

So I hope this campaign will succeed in changing flickr's mind. Your support for this is VITAL! Spread the word!

babblingdweeb

at 06:56 on June 18th, 2007

Wouldn't it have been much better if they'd flouted the 'law' as they
see it, and been challenged by the German courts? Then they would have
appeared as the champions of flickr users and of freedom.

Oh I think that would have been brilliant! Or even on that note, post a blog entry about the situation and explain that they will be temporarily implementing filters (on the level that are now in place) and explain why...but also explain that they plan if for Flickr/Yahoo to challenge the German government in the mean time. The premise there being to allow Flickr users to continue using the site and discuss the events, etc. Either way, I think you have a great point...and I would have loved to see Flickr stand up to Germany.

However, they - like Yahoo and Google have done in China etc - put
their initial profit/business BEFORE their users. And that is a big
breach of trust.

Also a good point. My concern with Flickr is their parent company Yahoo is repulsive. Ive been happy for Flickr's success, but sad to see it be with a company that has helped the Chinese government acquire opposing citizens.

net_efekt

at 10:03 on June 17th, 2007

Thanks for your support Blue Groudy!

You expressed the point quit well. We need to be able to have freedom of choice. THis isn't a licence for abuse (ie. as you mentioned child pornography) but you do have to allow people to make their own, informed decissions as to what they want to post or look at. A blanket cencorship is not acceptable.

Best regards

Christian