The German federal government is planning a law to block internet websites. We support the online petition against this initiative.
What Is It About?
The planned Access Impediment Act (Zugangserschwerungsgesetz) requires internet providers to block access to certain websites. A secret blocklist is to be created for this purpose.
Why We Are Against It
- Ineffective: DNS blocks are trivially bypassed and do not address the root problem
- Censorship infrastructure: Once a blocking infrastructure is built, it can be misused for any purpose
- No transparency: Secret blocklists without judicial oversight contradict the principles of the rule of law
- Wrong priorities: Instead of blocking content, it should be removed ("delete instead of block")
The Petition
The online petition of the German Bundestag reached over 50,000 co-signers in a very short time. We encourage everyone who stands for a free internet to support the petition.
As an infrastructure provider, we bear a special responsibility for an open and free internet.
