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German Murderer Sues Wikipedia for Removal of Name

by Amar Toor on November 12, 2009 at 04:40 PM

Typically, Wikipedia is lauded as a gateway to pretty much everything you'd ever want to know. But when the free dissemination of information butts heads with governmental legislation, censorship rears its ugly head, and things get complicated.

Such is the case in Germany, where a man convicted of killing Bavarian actor Walter Sedlmayr in 1990 is now suing Wikipedia for the removal of his name from the actor's entry. Lawyers for Wolfgang Werlé, who served 15 years in prison for his crime, claim in a cease-and-desist letter that the German courts have ruled that their "client's name and likeness cannot be used anymore in publication regarding Mr. Sedlmayr's death." In compliance with German privacy laws, other media publications have already stopped using Werlé's full name when discussing the murder. His attorneys are now demanding compensation for legal fees, as well as for "emotional suffering," arguing that their client's "rehabilitation and future life outside the prison system is severely impacted" by Wikipedia's "unwillingness to anonymize" its articles about Sedlmayr.

This isn't the first time Wikipedia has run into country-specific legislation, and it surely won't be the last. But if Werlé's lawyers succeed in getting his name purged from Wikipedia, we worry that it may start a snowball effect. If the site has to tailor its content to the tastes of a singular jurisdiction, there's a strong likelihood that others may follow suit. Wikipedia is an international forum, and one where information should pass without hindrance or filter. More importantly, it's a public forum where users essentially dictate what information is included. If international readers decide that the name of a murderer is significant, they'll include it. To us, it seems simple. But then again, the law is never simple. [From: Wired]

Tags: germany, international law, InternationalLaw, law, lawsuit, privacy, top, wikipedia

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