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Published on 5 June 2005

ISP MUST PREVENT ACCESS TO HOLOCAUST DENYING WEBSITE

Eight French anti-racist organizations are suing Internet service providers over a Holocaust denying site. This time, the Paris Prosecutor asked the Court to compel the Internet service providers to filter out the French websurfers and prevent them from accessing the site of AAARGH, the main provider of Holocaust denying material. "It appears to be necessary for the Court to order the Internet Service Providers to do everything in their power to put an end to the trouble represented by this website," wrote the Prosecutor.



In a former Paris Court of Justice decision, the US hosts of the AAARGH website were ordered to prevent any French websurfers from accessing the site and to provide the court with the whereabouts of the site's authors.

In a yet former court decision, the judges told the plaintiffs to sue the hosts before turning to the Internet access providers.

Three companies were identified as hosts of the incriminated website. Two of them, OLM and Globat, decided to terminate the contract with AAARGH but the third one, ThePlanet.com, a company incorporated in the US refused to do so. The French Court ordered ThePlanet.com to "prevent any access to the Internet site from the French territory". The Court also demanded elements to identify the owners and operators of the website.

AAARGH's website provides free access to over two hundred anti-Semitic and Holocaust denying books and brochures, an offence according to French law.

The Paris Court will hand down its decision on June 13.

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