PUBLIC NETBASE WRONGLY ACCUSED OF DISTRIBUTING PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET

deutsch

In a parliamentary session on July 7, 1998, the right radical Austria Freedom Party (FPÖ) accused Public Netbase of propagating pornographic material.

The occasion for these unfounded allegations is a series of public events organized by Public Netbase t0 Media~Space! in May 1998 entitled "sex.net - Sex, Lies & the Internet." The program critically examined the issues of pornography, censorship and the internet from a feminist perspective.

The accusations were re-iterated by the FPÖ at a press conference held on July 9. As evidence, the FPÖ presented print-outs of a commercial web site with the address http://www.sex.net. Because of the similarity of the site's name to Public Netbase's program, the FPÖ concluded that Public Netbase was the publisher of this site. Theses allegation were maintained despite the fact that the commercial erotic site http://www.sex.net clearly contains the following copyright declaration: "Copyright 1998 Ocean Fund International Ltd, A British Virgin Island International Corporation. All Rights Reserved."

This copyright declaration was omitted on the documents distributed by the FPÖ during their press conference, thus giving the impression that Public Netbase was in some manner related to the erotic site. Our sources inform us that at the July 9 press conference, Dr. Jörg Haider, the leader of the FPÖ, explicitly stated that Public Netbase was indeed responsible for http://www.sex.net

Public Netbase firmly denies the above allegations. Such accusations are completely unfounded as is proven by the copyright declaration on http://www.sex.net

Public Netbase is committed to providing a forum for critical discourse about the relationship of society and new technologies. The public program in May 1998 featured lectures and performances which critically examined mass media’s undifferentiated portrayals of pornography and the internet. Invited lecturers included Professor Constance Penley (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA), Cherie Matrix (Feminist Against Censorship, UK) and FetishDiva Midori (San Francisco, USA). Other participants in the public program are internationally renowned experts and artists from the fields of feminist theory, pornography and new media.

The program lecturers and participants and the program organizer Public Netbase t0 Media~Space! strongly condemn child pornography, just as strongly as they condemn the FPÖ’s attempts to implicate Public Netbase in such criminal activity.

Subsequently, Public Netbase is taking legal action against the FPÖ for libel and will be applying for an injunction order.

Public Netbase t0 is a not-for-profit Internet service provider. Along with being an internationally acclaimed content developer, the organization also runs an comprehensive event and information program in the Viennese Museumsquartier. Public Netbase provides its 1000 users with the technical assistance and knowledge needed for active and creative participation in Internet communication and the World Wide Web. Its existence has fostered the growth of an interesting and lively Internet scene and has increased awareness of the implications of new communication and information technologies in Austria. Public Netbase is committed to the exploration of the relations between culture and technology, art and society, science and politics. Its World Wide Web Server was awarded the Prix Ars Electronica 95.

 

July 15, 1998
Vienna, Austria