Norway Web Operator Fined For Child Porn On Site
Originally published by Reuters Press, June 7, 2002
STOCKHOLM — Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 said on Friday it would appeal against a Norwegian fine for spreading child pornography through news groups on its servers, a ruling that could set a dangerous precedent for many Internet Service Providers.
The Norwegian court ordered Tele2 to pay 350,000 Norwegian crowns ($44,430), saying it should have known its servers were being used to spread illegal pornographic pictures and film of children.
"Tele2 believes that this ruling is incorrect and will appeal," said Tele2 spokesman Andrew Bast.
In similar cases elsewhere, ISPs have been regarded as "passive conduits," a legal term that in most countries means they cannot be held accountable for customers' online activities.
An analogy has been drawn with telecoms companies, who cannot be held responsible for customers who may have used their phone lines to plot a bank robbery.
While ISPs typically are not compelled to police their networks for sites carrying illicit content, most have been willing to co-operate with law enforcement and industry trade groups who have notified them of content that violates local laws.
Earlier this month, the Motion Picture Association, the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America, got a small Dutch ISP to shut down Film88.com, a Web site that advertised the download of copyright-protected first-run films for $1 a piece.
The Nordic countries have some of the world's highest levels of Internet usage. Although Norway is not a member of the EU, it adopts many EU trade rules through its participation in the European Economic Area.
Pending the appeal, Tele2 has removed all pictures from its news groups—discussion forums for people with similar interests. It said it would be too complicated to sift through all the pictures, identifying which were offensive and which were not.
Tele2's Norwegian rival Telenor said it had closed all Internet news groups that contain pictures until further notice, due to the court's decision.
"The ruling could set a precedent, (and) the only real alternative is to stop these services to users," Telenor said in a statement.
