Blog faces takedown after neo-Nazi allegation

UK political blog Harry’s Place may be removed by webhost Daily.co.uk after a complaint from an academic whom it claimed had posted links to neo-Nazi articles in an online debate.

The blog published a comment made by Sheffield-based UCU activist Jenna Delich in an online discussion of a potential boycott of Israel by the union, in which she linked to, and appeared to endorse, an article posted on the website of American far-right politician David Duke. Harry’s Place has been consistently critical of any suggestion that Israeli academics should be boycotted by their British counterparts.

Webhosts Daily.co.uk subsequently received a complaint that the post was ’slanderous’, and informed Harry’s Place that it would not continue to host the blog’s domain name, saying the bloggers had breached terms of use.

Harry’s Place blogger David T told Index: ‘We have done nothing wrong. We did not breach Daily’s terms and conditions. They have put us out of business, without warning and without an opportunity to make alternative provision.’

Currently in the UK Internet service providers are liable for material posted on websites they host. ‘There should be statutory and blanket immunity for ISPs, as exists in the US,’ said David T.

Daily.co.uk declined to speak to Index, claiming that discussing the issue would breach data protection laws.

Earlier this year, Harry’s Place was threatened with legal action after claiming that a member of the British Muslim Initiative had made anti-Semitic remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera.

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1. Roo

   August 27, 2008 at 09:56

   UCU are clearly only interesting in closing down communication and free speech – between Isreal & the UK and between Harry’s Place and it’s readers.

   Is this really the UK’s academics union we’re talking about here? When & why did academics get so committed to censorship in all it’s forms? Doesn’t academia thrive on free speech? UCU’s seriously lost the plot!

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