Chinese style censorship by Softlayer, a Texas-based server hosting company
2008-07-10. 00:05

Top nationalist Hungarian news portal silenced - Free speech not tolerated in the US?

We run a Hungarian language right wing nationalist news site (www.kuruc.info) we have been online for nearly two and a half years. We are among the most popular Hungarian political sites with about 50-80,000 (yes, eighty-thousand) unique IP-readers and hundreds of thousands hits a day. This is one of the facts that makes our enemies really angry. Our server is located in the United States. You will see why.

So called holocaust denial is (still) not punishable in Hungary, nevertheless we have got a shameful zionist-postcommunist government in Budapest, Hungary which has been trying everything to hinder and restrict free speech for a long time. Besides, this allegedly liberal government declared a kinf of state of emergency in Budapest on 23rd October 2006, ordered the police to shoot at peaceful Hungarian demonstrators with rubber bullets which resulted in nearly 200 wounded citizens, fourteen among them lost one of their eyes, too.

That is why we had to relocate our server to America. We have some American co-workers, too. The extremist and illegitimate Gyurcsány-Government has even asked the American Government to shut our news site but their evil efforts have been in vain so far. US Department of Justice denied to extradite our server data to the 'Hungarian' government and police last year by referring to the US constitution which, as you know, guarantees absolute free speech. But we all are familiar how powerful the Zionist lobby is. Our news service covers a lot more other issues - immigration, gipsy problems and high criminality in Hungary and Europe , etc., but we certainly do not feel ashamed and hesitate to publish revisionist articles which consequently made our enemies frenzy.

On Friday, July 4th 2008 our server was disconnected by our American server hosting provider (Softlayer) without any legal process or evidence of what we have allegedly done wrong. They have not given us any details so far, nor have they told us if it is the FBI behind their unprecedented move. They simply referred to an obscure and unknown complaint which says we have violated or abused their TOS (Terms of Service). This TOS includes and enumerates a number of illegal activities such as 'terrorist threats' among others (please find the ticket opened by Softlayer) but they have not said we are terrorists.

Their move was of course ridiculous, illegal and broke the contract between us. If we were terrorists, they would not refer to abuse of AUP/TOS but we would be taken care of by the law enforcement authorities. Unfortunately we are not well-connected with any American or European civil associations or groups committed to freedom of internet press and speech which could help us. We are not going to give up in the States but we will probably have to look for another American server hosting company and we might lose the rent paid to Softlayer in case we cannot win a legal battle over them.

Antal Egei
Deputy Chief Editor
Kuruc.info news portal
chief_editor@kuruc.info

If you wish to support our case please send the following protesting e-mail to Softlayer (lcrosby@softlayer.com - Lance Crosby, CEO, abuse@softlayer.com, sales@softlayer.com and support@softlayer.com):

Gentlemen,
I am appalled by the fact that you have recently disconnected my favorite news site Kuruc.info due to obscure and groundless complaints. To my knowledge your move was without prior notice, without a fair process, without a legal procedure and with no Court order, either.
Please note that the First Amendment of the United States theoretically grants absolute freedom of speech, placing the burden upon the state to demonstrate when (if) a limitation of this freedom is necessary. If you disconnect a site after receiving slandering and defamatory complaints I would never recommend anyone to do business with your company.
What is more, I will advise all my friends and business partners NOT to work with you in case you do not reconnect the server of Kuruc.info. In addition, I will file a complaint to my senator or congressman or member of parliament and will promptly warn civil associations, too, to make the case heard publicly in America and Europe.
Yours sincerely,
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