German Parliament Passes Bill in Fight Against Child Pornography Sites

The German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has adopted a new set of laws making it possible to block child pornography Web sites. The legislation requires Web hosting companies to post stop signs when internet users try to access child pornography sites. The bill still has to go through several stages before it becomes law. The motion has been the subject of a protest petition, with opponents claiming it is a first step towards Internet censorship. The petition has gathered 130,000 signatures calling for the bill to be scrapped