 The Scorpions released this cover as an alternate to the naked child photo for its 1976 “Virgin Killer” album |
Britain’s leading online child abuse watchdog blacklisted Wikipedia’s photo of a naked child on the cover of a music album after WND broke the story about the controversial picture – but it has subsequently decided to reinstate the page due to its “wide availability” and time in existence.
The image in question, titled “Virgin Killer” from RCA’s 1976 Scorpions rock album, depicts a naked pre-pubescent girl (appearing about 10 years of age) in a provocative pose. Her chest is completely exposed and a small crack is placed over her vagina.
The photo is a “potentially illegal indecent image of a child under the age of 18,” the Internet Watch Foundation admitted.
IWF is a nonprofit group that works with law enforcement to block and remove child pornography from websites. The foundation consulted police before making its initial decision to ban the entry, BBC News reported. The IWF said approximately 95 percent of British users were restricted from accessing the Wikipedia page.
While the foundation said the album “is potentially in breach of the Protection of Children Act of 1978,” an appeal was filed. The IWF decided to remove it from its blacklist today “in light of the length of time the image has existed and its wide availability.”
The album’s cover was banned in the United States due to its extremely controversial nature and was later replaced with a photo of the band. When WND brought the image to the attention of several Wikipedia representatives in May, they originally denied any knowledge of it.
Asked if the photograph of the nude child would remain on the site or be taken down, Jay Walsh, head of communications for the Wikimedia Foundation, responded:
I have no idea when it will come down, as I probably already discussed with you – the foundation does not play a direct role in making edits to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a platform for use by members of the public, around the world.
I understand your concern has been raised with volunteer administrators and editors. They will review and consider your request, in the context of the Wikipedia editorial policies.
Cary Bass, volunteer coordinator for Wikipedia, told WND, “There’s not really a definition of pornography.”
“But of course, we don’t want anything illegal on this site,” he said.
The FBI told WND it was reviewing the image, but would not offer any additional information about the case.
According to PC World, two major ISPs, BT and Virgin Media, insisted the photo should be removed because UK law enforcement has classified it as illegal.
A BT spokesman told PC World should Wikipedia decide to remove the graphic image, “we can go back to the way things were.”
Wikipedia held a forum on its website where contributors discussed whether to delete the image. Then they simply added information about its controversial nature under the subcategory “Internet censorship.” As of this report, the photo of the nude child was still available online.
A message declares the page “protected from editing until December 11, 2008 because of edit warring.”
Meanwhile, the IWF also considered blacklisting an Amazon page that hosts the “Virgin Killer” image. Some say the move could prove devastating for Amazon if it is blocked from UK customers during its busiest season – just before Christmas.
The Wikimedia Foundation responded to the ban by releasing a statement:
“We have no reason to believe the image has been held to be illegal in any jurisdiction anywhere in the world,” Wikimedia lawyer Mike Godwin said. The company said it would remain in contact with the IWF to “resolve this matter.”
Previously, the online encyclopedia indicated it was inundated with e-mails from concerned users in the wake of WND’s initial report.
In a WND poll related to the story, the No. 1 response, at more than 47 percent, had readers saying Wikipedia is clearly violating U.S. obscenity laws and should face prosecution.
Scorpions leader Rudolf Schenker responded to criticism about the cover by telling a Portuguese rock magazine, Loud, that the photo was not the band’s idea:
It was the publisher … we gave the lyrics to the publisher and then they said us that the idea was to put a broken glass in front of a naked girl. … Nowadays it would be impossible to make something like that especially with the actual outrage of children sexual abuse, and we wouldn’t do it again, in that time it was already complicated, but as we were young we thought we had the right to go farther away.
Scorpions former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth expressed remorse about the band’s use of the image in a 2006 interview:
“Looking at that picture today makes me cringe. It was done in the worst possible taste. Back then I was too immature to see that. Shame on me – I should have done everything in my power to stop it.”
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