剛發現涉及 Flickr hyperlink 的淫審案上了全球最大的互聯網消息網站 boing boing 的7月10日首頁.
已我亦收到拍攝 "Nude and capture"的 Flickr 用戶 ioerror 的電郵回覆. Jacob 是一個專業的攝影師, 他將會為我寫證供, 以下是其電郵的部份內容:
我所理解的是, 因為 Flickr 查禁我的用戶戶口, 審裁署決定繼續提控, 這個控訴(譯按:分類)與 Flickr 的查禁密切相關. Flickr 不喜歡禁查這個字, 但它們實際上正在查禁. 讓我更清楚地指出, Flickr 正在制度化一個全球的查禁計畫, 容許部份地區查禁某些照片. 作為一個 Flickr 的用戶, 我甚至在不知情的情況下跌入這個計畫當中.
Flickr 甚至不回覆我的電郵查詢, 為什麼我的賬戶會被過濾. 直至不認識我的人接觸我, 我才知道自己己被查禁. 我找到一個覆審照片內容的網上表格, 要求覆審, 指出我絶大部份(若不是全部)的相片都有妥當的標記, 並沒有人提出我任何圖片有令人反感的內容. 我要求覆審的圖片包括那張令到林惹上麻煩的照片, 我又寫了很多封電郵, 但仍在等候回覆. Flickr 好像愛理不理的.
我現在於羅馬尼亞旅行, 我沒有時間每天寫信給他們. 我的互聯網連接有限. 他們查禁我17,000張照片的做法是荒謬之極的. 我沒有17,000張色情照片, 相對我存放在 flickr 的大量照片, 我只有很少量裸體照.
首先出事的是用雅虎電郵的記者, 現在是一些連到它們照片的人. 這當然是一個禁查者無心造成的結果, 但我們要明白禁查背後所引發的一大堆關連的問題. 它們為了爭取海外市場, 變成囚禁中國公民的共謀(多謝 Yahoo!). 它們國際化的慾望, 已為德國帶來很嚴重的問題. 我個人就認識廿多個德國用戶, 他們不能看我的照片, 奧地利也有相同的狀況. Flickr 給出的理由是, 因為它們要跟從德國的法例, 所以很自然地, 奧地利都受到牽連. 試想像, 作為 Monochrom (譯註:一個科技藝術的網絡)的成員, 於維也納與很多藝術網絡(如 metalab)搞活動, 我對這查禁有何感想? 為什麼奧地利的用戶要跟從德國的法律? 搞錯了? 法律要求? 抑或對未來的品味有先見之明? 這是守法, 還是查禁?
除非用戶註冊虛假的電郵地址, 不以德國, 香港或奧地利來登記, 他們甚至不能看我的照片! 我相信有更多的國家面對同樣的問題, 但現在我無法確認. 我有一個加拿大的朋友說他也面對一些問題, 但只要一個設定的過濾, 他可以改設定, 只要多按幾下就能看到照片. 他只需改他的偏好設定, 使他能看到被過濾掉的圖片. 這是新的措施. 現在 flickr 的自動設定是, 所有人(不單是新的用戶)都有一個過濾器, 過濾掉所有"不安全"的東西, 它亦能擋走"溫和"(moderate)用戶的內容, 具體操作我還不大清楚. 這些所有的新措施, 均沒有公告, 只有一些指引和表格. 這些我都讀了, 還跟足指引做標籤. 雖然我覺得很傻, 但我一直都常試守它們的規則.
可是, 我覺得整件事令人憤怒, 我不喜觀看到我選擇的照片, 現在會使一些人失去他們的自由. 我不在乎他們為什麼連結我的照片, 那是一個連到一些概念藝術的超連結. 不錯, 是裸體, 我亦很清楚地標明. 但它不是色情照, 它是藝術照. 我選擇這幅想是因為它是一個精心的創作, 由一個專業的模特兒和繩索專家一起做, 而我亦可算是一個專業攝影師. 無論怎樣衡量, 這絶非色情照或淫褻的東西.
事件使我質疑為什麼我要光顧 flickr 呢? 我是付費用顧, 但我大概不會再延續我的賬戶了, 因為我了解到它們是多麼的不合理. 我知道 flickr (與 yahoo!)裡有一些很了不起的人和工作人員, 他們在實踐一些很有趣的工作. 可是 Yahoo 使中國的記者入獄, 明顯越界了, 而 flickr 的查禁亦越界.
Flickr 應盡快把錯誤的事糾正過來, 它們應該停止過濾我的照片(以及其他 flickr用戶), 公開地就其查禁向公眾道歉, 為林藹雲提供法律支持, 免她入獄. 這也許意味著承擔法律責任和承擔巨大的賠償, 但 yahoo 這母公司如此龐大的營利下, 這些付出完全合理. 它們公司的底線不應該以查禁一些所謂有問題的內容以吸引一個更大的市場, 它們應該支持它們的社區. 他們宣稱自己守法, 但事實上他們所做的比我們看到的多. 他們正在影響本地的法律. 他們變成判別何為淫穢的法官和陪審員, 並成為一個更龐大的查禁機制的共謀, 這是令人憤怒的.
英文全文:
I'm sorry this is happening to you. Please CC to (email) in the future and send
me your proper email address so that we can continue this
discussion outside of flickr.
I'm willing to help you in anyway that I
possibly can. Let me know what I can do?
This was just written up
here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/07/10/hong_kong_blogger_fa.html
Here's
what I just wrote to Xeni at boingboing:
The photo in question is mine. It is
this url:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ioerror/102819914/
This
comment was left shortly after the linking:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ioerror/102819914/#comment72157600281009459
I
believe this is the original article in question:
http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=222202
Sadly,
the key part of that comment is this: Lam said that the photograph
was taken from the international photography site 'flickr' (see Nude and Captured") and was an art photograph around which the discussion was totally technical in nature."It will not arouse immoral, obscene thoughts." Flickr itself has not received any complaints to have the photograph removed. Lam said that she will not remove the photograph, although the InMedia editorial board has not reached a decision yet. She said: "Whether something is a work of art should be determined subjectively instead of just counting how many naughty bits is being exposed."......</i>
Why is this sad? Because recently, I was contacted by Oiwan Lam. I was told that because my account is now rated as 'unsafe' by flickr, this seems to render their previous argument about obscenity inaccurate. It's considered obscene by both the Chinese government censors and the censors at flickr.
Quotuing
Lam:
<i>however, when flickr introduced its filtering system
around mid june, they have flitered away your photos in hk.
and the
local authority put back the case to the tribunal
for classification in june 22. where, they have classified it as
indecent.</i>
As I understand that statement, it is because of Flickr censoring my account that the tribunal moved forward with their prosecution. A direct result of censorship on Flickrs part. Flickr doesn't like the word censorship but that's just what they're doing. Let me be clear: Flickr is instituting a global censorship program that allows for regional censorship of photos. As a Flickr user, I was not informed that I fell into such a program or even in fact that such a program existed.
Flickr won't even respond to my emails about the specific problems with my account or as to why it's being filtered. It took outsiders contacting me before I realized I was being censored. I managed to get a form letter about how I could go through all of my photos and ask for a re-review. I did this and most, if not all of my photos are properly tagged. Still, I wasn't told of any specific offending photos. My re-review included the the previously mentioned photo that's causing Lam so many problems. After writing several more emails, I am still waiting to hear back. Flickr doesn't seem to care.
As I'm currently traveling in Romania, I don't have time to write them daily. My connection here is limited. Their censorship of over 17,000 of my photos is absurd. I don't have 17,000 photos of porn. I have hardly any nude photos at all by comparison to the larger body of my work hosted on Flickr.
First it was journalists who used Yahoo! mail and now it's people who merely link to their property. Though this is certainly a case of an unintended consequence of being a censor, it's important to understand the wide ranging issues behind becoming a censor. They're about to be complicit in putting another (Thanks Yahoo!) Chinese citizen behind bars as an unintended consequence of their attempts to grab foreign markets. Their desire to internationalize has caused them massive problems in Germany. I personally know two dozen Germans that cannot access my work, the same is true in Austria. The reason according to Flickr is that they have to comply with German law, so naturally they
just include Austria as collateral damage. Imagine the joy this causes as I am a member of<a href="http://www.monochrom.at/">monochrom</a>
and work in Vienna with various groups such as the <a href="http://metalab.at/wiki/Hauptseite">Metalab</a>.
Why does flickr subject Austrian users to German law? A glitch? The law? Or a taste of what's to come? Is this so called legal compliance or just a broad stroke of the censor?
Until users create new accounts with fake addresses outside of Germany, Austria or Hong Kong, they can't even view my photos if
they wanted to do so. No amount of clicking about. This is probably happening in more than these three countries but I can't confirm it. A Canadian friend of mine reported some problems but it was just the new default filter system and it was possible for him to click through eventually. He merely had to dig through his preferences to find that Flickr had helpfully enabled filtering of all the photos he could see. To be clear, this was new. Now by default, everyone (and not just new accounts) has a filter enabled that blocks so called 'unsafe' accounts. It may also block 'moderate' accounts, I'm unsure. All of this was without notice and all of this goes without direct comment beyond some simple nonsense form letter about reading their community guidelines. I've read them, I tag and flag my images. I think it's silly but I've tried to play by the rules.
However, I find all of this extremely frustrating. I do not like that my choice in photo hosting is now possibly going to cost a person their freedom. I don't care why they linked to my photos, it's a
hyperlink to some conceptual art. Yes, it has nudity but
it's clearly labeled as such. It's not pornography, it's art. This photo was specifically chosen because it was tastefully created by working with a professional model, a professional rope rigger and myself, arguably, a professional photographer. This isn't pornography or obscenity by any reasonable measure of either.
It's made me seriously question why I'm using Flickr at all. I am a paying customer but I don't think I'll be renewing my account now that I realize how unreasonable they are. I know Flickr (as well as Yahoo!) has some amazing people on staff and I'm aware they're doing some interesting stuff. The jailing of journalists in China was the line crossed by Yahoo. This censorship crosses the line for Flickr.
Flickr should make this right for everyone involved. They should unfilter my account (as well as the rest of the flickr users), properly apologize in public for censoring me and help Oiwan Lam with the legal assistance needed to stay out of jail. This may mean paying the insanely high fine. I think that's a reasonable way to resolve it considering the moneybags parent company Yahoo. The bottom line
of their company shouldn't be censorship of so called questionable
material to attract a larger market. They should actually support their so called community. They claim they're complying with local law but
really, they're doing so much more as we can see. They're directly
affecting local law. They're becoming the judge and jury about what was
obscene or what is obscene. They're complicit in an even larger censorship system and this is outrageous.
Regards,
Jacob ____