$cientology bullies Google; COTSG falls behind again.

From: "Unclaimed Mysteries" <k4doh@mindspring.com>
Newsgroups: alt.slack
Date: Thu, Mar 21, 2002

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/03/21/0453200&mode=thread&tid=99

When will we learn to stay ahead of these people? I call on Google to remove
all Anti-SubGenius pages from their precious cache. And in keeping in line
with traditional doctrine and the DYMCA, I call on Google to replace them
with pre-approved, HTML-Foamatted (tm) divine denouncements of Dobbs.

No outsider should be allowed to criticize and condemn our cult leader with
hate speech. THAT'S OUR JOB.

Corry

--
It Came From C. L. Smith's Unclaimed Mysteries.
http://www.unclaimedmysteries.net

"You know, the Communists had it all wrong. The best way to manage society
is through central planning of Consumption." -Dr. Awktagon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Ned Wreck" <NedWreck@usenetserver.com>

"Alliekatt" <alleykatzen@hotmail.com> wrote
> That's funny. The whole article was on Rotten before it got to Slashdot.

Good for Rotten.com, then!
I did a Google search of the word "$cientology" (just for shits and giggles,
mind) and got a completely different list.
But, then again, who'd know to use the "$" if they didn't already know what
a bunch of mealy, wormy cocksuckers the clams are? I'm starting to hate them
more than babdists, and that's saying something.

Ned
Sea Borg
--
Eternal Salvation or Triple Your Money Back!!! HTTP://WWW.SubGenius.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "ineffable name" <vavavavoooom2@hotmail.com>

"Unclaimed Mysteries" <k4doh@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:a7d0pg$aem$1@slb1.atl.mindspring.net...
> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/03/21/0453200&mode=thread&tid=99

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-866058.html

Scientologists force Google to cut links

By Matt Loney and Evan Hansen
ZDNet (UK)
March 21, 2002, 12:05 PM PT

Google was accused Wednesday of effectively removing from the
Internet a Web site that is critical of the Church of Scientology
after it deleted links to some of the site's pages from its search engine.

The popular search company said it removed the links after it received
a copyright-infringement complaint from the Church of Scientology.
Andreas Heldal-Lund, Webmaster of the site Xenu.net, said in a Usenet
posting that the complaint demanded that Google take down a large
number of references to different parts of Xenu.net.
"The complaint mentions a ridiculous list of addresses, which successfully
removes the whole site from their engine," he said.

Search engines routinely remove links to URLs, or Web addresses, upon
request to avoid litigation. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (DMCA), sites cannot be held liable for copyright infringement
provided they promptly take down content flagged by a copyright holder.
Much of that activity has targeted links to MP3 files that turn up on search engines.

Digital rights advocates said the Church of Scientology's takedown
request is noteworthy because it underscores potential conflicts
between the DMCA and free speech. "The danger is that people
will attempt to silence critics under the guise of copyright
infringement," said Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with
San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation.

In the Xenu.net case, the removed links led to pages that contain
material copyrighted by the Church of Scientology. On his
site, Heldal-Lund defends this use of copyrighted material, saying
that he believes Scientology survives "through the protection
afforded it by copyright laws in a way that copyright laws were not designed to address."

A representative for the Church of Scientology could not be immediately reached for comment.

The right to link has been the subject of several high-profile lawsuits, including
a dispute between hacker publication 2600.com and the motion picture industry
over code known as DeCSS that can theoretically be used to crack DVDs.
In that case, a federal judge in New York held that links to the DeCSS
code violated the anti-circumvention clause of the DMCA, which bars
trafficking in software that can be used to defeat copy protection.
That decision was upheld on appeal.

Another linking case under way in New York involves MP3 search service
MP3Board.com, which is challenging the DMCA's notice and takedown provision.
The case, filed in May 2000, is pending. MP3Board had created a delisting
feature allowing copyright holders to pull offending links automatically, but the
move did not mollify copyright holders, who were upset that the search engine
included results from peer-to-peer exchanges such as Gnutella.

The EFF's von Lohmann said search engines are not required to comply with
takedown notices, but that most do to avoid the risks of litigation.
"Search engines can't take on every copyright holder," he said. "It's hard to
say search engines should pay for this fight themselves."

Google noted that Xenu.net has some recourse. "Google provides Webmasters
the ability to have their content reinstated if they submit a counter
notification to Google," the company said in a statement.
Xenu.net's Heldal-Lund said this would require the services of a lawyer
and would be prohibitively expensive.

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Original file name: $cientology bullies Google; COT - converted on Friday, 20 September 2002, 16:06