The Ministry of Truth

Monday, November 13, 2006 at 1:45 | Posted in Freedom of speech, Germany, internet, Journalism, Legal, Media, Press freedom | 6 Comments

A recent ruling of the Press Chamber of Landgericht Hamburg (also known as Dunkelkammer) reminds me of The Ministry of Truth in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. The Wikipedia writes about Orwell’s book but it could just as well comment the case in allegoric terms:

The Ministry of Truth was involved with news, entertainment and the fine arts. Its purpose was to rewrite history and change the facts to fit party doctrine, for propaganda effect. For example, if Big Brother (BB) made a prediction that turned out to be wrong, the employees of the Ministry of Truth would go back and rewrite history so that any prediction BB made would be accurate.

High profile criminal cases usually get a good deal of media coverage during and after the trial. The names of the offenders also commonly appear in the media after a guilty verdict. In most cases, there is no media coverage when the offenders have done their time in jail and are released.

The recent ruling of the Dunkelkammer involved the coverage of a criminal case in a newspaper. Apparently, the offender complained against the old article, including his name, being available in the archived internet version of the paper at the time of his release from the prison. He claimed that this was violating his personal rights and hampering his readjustment to the society. The court agreed and allowed the complaint.

As Marcel Bartels points out, this ruling means in practical terms that an article which is legal at the moment of its publication in the web, may become illegal at a later point. If the legal status of web contents can change over time, it would be practically impossible to publish anything of significance in a blog. You would have to constantly evaluate your old posts to determine if they are as legal today as they were at the time they were written and published.

This would turn a blogger from an active observer and reporter of current events to an official of the Ministry of Truth whose job would be to rewrite the history so that everything he has published in the web would be truthful and legal at any point of time. In light of the German legislation and court practices, it would also open the door for a whole lot of more legal claims against providers of web sites.

Kai has posted a comment saying that the freedom of speech in Germany is seriously threatened by these latest prospects. He says that those who still wish to excercise free speech in Germany need the support of people like you and me outside the country. I could not agree more.

That is why I am going to continue to keep an eye on the developments. And if need be, this blog will provide a platform for critical opinions and comments for German fellow bloggers.

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[...] Marcel Bartels kommenteerib, et kui see otsus ka ülemates kohtudes kinnitamist leiab, tekib olukord, kus avaldamise ajal legaalne veebiartikkel võib hiljem ise enesest mitteseaduslikuks muutuda, kusjuures veebisaidi omanik peab pidevalt oma vanu kirjutisi revideerima. Sisuliselt ei saaks sellistes tingimustes näiteks ajaveebis peale puht isiklike asjade mitte midagi olulist kajastada. Minu ingliskeelne kommentaar teema kohta asub siin. [...]

Pingback by Saksamaal veebivabadus ohustatud « Larko lobiseb (peegel)— Monday, November 13, 2006 #

Reply
Hi, Larko!
Do you know the webpage Mimosenschutz verdrängt Meinungsfreiheit? If not, you should read the “Missstände im Äußerungsrecht und Forderungen zur Korrektur”. In my opinion, this is the best short explanation about many problems we have in Germany. It is not only the court in Hamburg. If you follow this hyperlink, you get a very good and compact overview about several related problems and what should be done.

Comment by Kai— Tuesday, November 14, 2006 #

Reply
Thanks for the link, Kai. I’ll have a look at it.

Comment by Larko— Tuesday, November 14, 2006 #

Reply
[...] Ich denke, das ganze läuft darauf hinaus, dass das Ministry of Truth versucht, die aus den herkömmlichen Lügenblättern und preisgekrönten Fischsendungen bekannte Infomationsdiktatur im Internet einzuführen. Man stelle sich mal vor, da macht irgendjemand einen Amoklauf, die Politiker quatschen ihren üblichen abgedroschenen Mist, die Medien versuchen die Fakten nach Kräften zu verdrehen und im Internet kann sich dann jeder anhand authentischer Dokumente wie dem Abschiedsbrief des Amokläufers davon überzeugen, dass die Ursachen für den Suizid ganz andere waren. Schrecklich, so etwas müssen unsere Politiker auf jeden Fall verhindern. Ich denke, genau für solche Fälle soll nun das Telemediengesetz gemacht werden, so wie es vorgeschlagen wurde. [...]

Pingback by Mein Parteibuch » Nochmal Telemediengesetz— Thursday, November 23, 2006 #

Reply
After finally finding an international blog about germany’s new problems with ‘free speech’, as it seems … maybe someone could take a look at the problem of ‘officially shutdown/blocked’ sites of this 18-year-old young man who finished his life in Emsdetten this week.

Marcel also published his letter in full length after the officials took it offline?

http://www.mein-parteibuch.de/2006/11/21/abschiedsbrief-des-amoklaeufers-von-emsdetten/

The new mirror-site ‘(k)einmensch’ also felt the opression now … but yet resists … but until when?

http://www.keinmensch.de/

Comment by OldMan— Thursday, November 23, 2006 #

Reply
It is a good point, “OldMan”. I have seen the letter and some material in his site but have to look at it closer. I am very likely to write at least something about it when I get the chance.

Comment by Larko— Thursday, November 23, 2006 #

Reply

More shameless remarks by Larko