IWF Removes Wikipedia Blacklisting in UK

By: Jillian C. York on 9 December 2008
Posted in Europe, Obscenity, Social filtering, United Kingdom

Shortly after we blogged about the blocking of the Wikipedia page for heavy metal band Scorpions' album "Virgin Killer," it was announced that the England-based Internet Watch Foundation had removed the Wikipedia page from their child pornography watchlist.

An unfortunate side-effect of the ban was that a number of UK-based Wikipedia editors had been unable to access the editors' pages of the site.

The IWF said that: "in light of the length of time the image has existed and its wide availability, the decision has been taken to remove the webpage from our list."

You can read the IWF's statement on the issue here.

Of course a record album cover is a non-issue.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 16 December, 2008 - 12:48.

The UK filter is a full-scale technical filter like those in regimes around the world. It is only a matter of time before they filter a whole host of content.

Who they choose to filter is telling.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 19 December, 2008 - 14:18.

The UK was eager to filter Wikipedia--an educational resource, ostensibly for one record album cover, while not filtering that same record album cover from Amazon--a commercial interest.

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