UK ISPs Ban Wikipedia Child Image

Wikipedia users are angry over a decision by UK ISPs to ban a page on the online encyclopedia that shows an image of a naked girl.

A row is brewing over the decision by a number of British ISPs to ban a Wikipedia page showing a picture of a naked girl.
The ISPs blocked the page after the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) warned them that the page might be illegal, according to the BBC.

So what’s the picture behind all this? It’s the cover of an album – not named, but presumably Virgin Killer, which shows a young, naked girl – by German metal band the Scorpions.

The IWF said that the image was brought to its attention last week, and it had contacted the police before it made its decision on the image, although it’s readily viewed elsewhere. It means that the page relating to the album is inaccessible to most UK users, although it was available this morning through Tiscali.

Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said that the page removal also seems to have prevented UK users from editing on the site:

"It appears that there’s a large number of editors – I can’t say all – who appear to have access issues."

The image appears in many places, including books, and has never been ruled illegal before, according to Wikipedia volunteers.