Hacker News Reader

Comment by giancarlostoro | Hacker News Reader

This is a pretty serious issue if they were to get away with it, although I'm not sure about how legal precedents work in Germany, but regardless holding a domain registrar liable for what the domain itself distributes seems absurd. It's like suing a city for giving land legally to someone who started a drug smuggling operation under that land as if the city knew the intent.

View on HN

Germany has some surprisingly regressive (IMO) laws about the internet, copyright, etc. See: https://teleread.org/2018/03/03/project-gutenberg-blocks-ger...

Is this a limited case? In general I've heard that Berlin is pretty happening place for privacy activists these days. Kinda makes me scratch my head to read this.

Germany is very privacy positive. Majority of the weird internet laws generally come around because of the countries privacy laws. That is why it's got a big privacy activist scene. And that case seems basic Copyright, where in Germany the work is still copyrighted so the copyright owner went to court to enforce it. This seems pretty standard and expected.

Isn't this more like requiring a city to provide the name and contact info for the owner of that piece of land?

I think in most places that is public info.

I suppose so, but then holding them liable for crimes in the land is a bit silly.

I don't think that's why they mentioned "criminal complaint." I suspect (correct me if I'm mistaken) that it's a necessary step to obtaining a subpoena or other process needed to unveil the domain registrant.

I don't see the distinction.

Yeah it reads to me (IANAL) as some "legal blackmail", hey give us this info or we sue you for the registrants crimes.

It's an arm twisting move to force give out the name. Once they comply the will move to the next link of the chain and try to twist that arm. It never ends.

Wonder what happens if the registrant has a fake name and address. I guess the domain gets removed?

They are saying they will hold them liable if they don't turn over the customer's contact info.

A better analogy of something that regularly happens would be demands for a mobile phone provider to hand over all info they have for a number used in drug trade.

Not sure how that works in Germany.

This is hardly analogous. A registrar files some paperwork. A phone provider operates and maintains equipment that provides the functionality of the phone.

Good point. MVNOs don't really do all of that, but I see what you mean.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com