FC: Study shows problems of blocking sites by IP address

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Ben's report:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/edelman/ip-sharing/

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http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985216.html

   Net blocking threatens legitimate sites
   By Declan McCullagh
   February 19, 2003, 5:36 PM PT

   Government efforts to block offensive Web sites are technically
   problematic and legally worrisome, a new study says.

   The study from Harvard University's Berkman Center highlights how
   modern Web standards have permitted thousands of domain names to share
   one Internet address. It concludes that instead of precisely targeting
   only objectionable sites, attempts to restrict Internet addresses with
   pornographic, political or gambling-related content inevitably make
   legitimate sites unreachable too.

   "The numbers are staggeringly high," said Ben Edelman, a student
   fellow at the Berkman Center and author of the report. "According to
   my results, two-thirds of sites are hosted on Web servers with 50 or
   more domain names."

   [...]




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