| You
are in Library / Censored
E-mail sent
to the BBC in reply to the letter confirming the blocking of UKCIA from the bbc.co.uk
website search engine. Ref
10398637 Sir The
website www.ukcia.org is presently being blocked by the bbc.co.uk search
engine. I have received a very bland and unacceptable reply to my initial
complaint about this and I would therefore like to make a formal complaint
about this issue. I
attach my reply to Mr Stewart McCullough of the Editorial and Investigation
Team which I have sent directly to him by post. However I have been informed
that I have to go through your office to progress this matter. Please
treat this as an urgent and formal complaint and remove the block on www.ukcia.org
with immediate effect. If
you are unable to comply with this request, please inform me of the appeals
procedure and who I am to deal with in future correspondence. Sincerely Derek
Williams Webteam www.ukcia.org
Letter sent today to Mr Stewart McCullough of the Editorial and Investigation
Team
----------------------------
<address>
<<telephone
number> 16th
September 2004 Ref
10398637 Dear
Mr McCullough RE:
bbc.co.uk blocking of ukcia.org from the search engine Thank
you for you letter of 10th September informing me that the website www.ukcia.org
is being blocked by the bbc.co.uk search engine. You
explained that our site is blocked because "some users may feel aspects"
of our site did not match the remit of your family friendly search facility,
however you didn't explain why this is so and I can see no justification
for the claim. Indeed
you do link to websites far less accountable and reputable than ours, including
sites which would seem to encourage illegal behaviour. I
feel you are unaware of the nature and content of UKCIA. The site is the main
website of the British Legalise Cannabis campaigns and has been in existence
for nearly 10 years now. The issue of cannabis legalisation is a major political
issue in the UK and one of interest to many people and our site is central
to that debate. Far
from containing material likely to cause offence or to endanger children,
UKCIA is a highly respected site. Indeed Drugscope recently featured a review
of drugs information websites by the "Elisad gateway project" from
The European association of libraries and information services on alcohol
and other drugs supported by the European Union http://www.elisad.uni-bremen.de/.
You can find this website by searching for elisad with your search engine. Elisad
Gateway has this to say about UKCIA: http://www.elisad.uni-bremen.de/details.php?id=461 "Website
description: The UKCIA website is one of the most compressive sources of information
on cannabis. It has extensive information on the legal, medical, and social
side of cannabis, all backed up by statistics, full text reports and references.
It has a wide audience. It's primary audience is researchers, and those already
taking cannabis, but through its activism and information sections it seeks
to influence the general public, policy makers, and health personnel. It
has a comprehensive library; a medical users section which includes a database
of testimonies from people who use cannabis therapeutically; a research database
which contains factual information about cannabis and it's effects on health
and society; a law library which contains the full text of the most important
legislation regarding drugs in the UK, a contacts database with headshops,
drugs advice service or anything else of interest to the cannabis culture
(in a searchable database). Sub-sections are too numerous to list, but the
main sections are: library, activism, culture, politics and the law, medical,
industrial, search and contact". You
will notice that UKCIA is ranked highly in this survey in nearly all the
ellisad Gateway categories. I
think you will agree this is not a description of a website deserving of being
banned, indeed the blocking of UKCIA would seem to be crude censorship quite
unfitting of the BBC. Your website warns that the BBC is not responsible
for content of sites not run by the BBC and such blanket censorship should
only be used in extreme circumstances. I
fail to understand the reason for the BBC banning UKCIA and you failed to
give one in your reply. Therefore I am formally asking in the strongest terms
that you remove the block with immediate effect. If you are unable to do this,
please provide me with the specific reason the site is blocked and information
on how we appeal and to whom we do so. Please
treat this matter with the utmost urgency and remove this block with immediate
effect Sincerely Derek
Williams Webteam www.ukcia.org |