Convicted murderer sues Wikipedia under privacy law

Here's the story. Or at least most of it.

Some 19 years ago, a man in Germany, together with his half brother, reportedly murdered an actor named Walter Sedlmayr. The man was convicted and served 15 years in jail.

Now he is free. And, according to Wired, he has exercised that freedom by instructing lawyers, the elegantly named firm of Stopp and Stopp, to sue Wikipedia.

The lawsuit claims that German privacy law, designed to help criminals re-integrate into society, prevents the man being named in association with Walter Sedlmayr's murder.

Wired quotes Jennifer Granick from the Electronic Frontier Foundation as saying that the lawyers are not only demanding that publications change whatever they write now, but that online archives must endure revision, too.

In writing to Wikipedia, the lawyers offered a very interesting approach: "As your article deals with a local German public figure (such as the actor Walter Sedlmayr), we expect you are aware that you have to comply with applicable German law."

Well, gosh, perhaps not everyone realizes when they mention, say, Boris Becker or that interesting actress who was in the first of the Bourne movies, that one is subject to German law when one does so.

Geek.com quotes the Electronic Frontier Foundation as adding: "At stake is the integrity of history itself. If all publications have to abide by the censorship laws of any and every jurisdiction just because they are accessible over the global Internet, then we will not be able to believe what we read, whether about Falun Gong (censored by China), the Thai king (censored under lèse majesté) or German murders."

(Credit: CC Schoschie/Flickr)

You might be wondering why I have not mentioned this German murderer's name. You see, as I write, I am reminded that the world seems to revel in the persona of murderers. In some slightly twisted way, they become figures of fascination.

I have a strange suspicion that the more the name of Walter Sedlmayr's murderer is mentioned, the more famous he will become. And the more famous he will become, the more money he might be able to make from the fame he claims not to desire.

So I am conducting a fame-reduction experiment. Moreover, I know that everyone who chooses to discover his name can do so in a myriad of ways.

I wonder how many people tried to access information about this man who murdered the German actor Walter Sedlmayr and how many people have done so in recent days.

I also wonder how Wikipedia will choose to respond to this interesting and rather revisionist-minded lawsuit. At the time of writing, the full names of both murderers are still there in the Wikipedia entry for Walter Sedlmayr.

However, the Wikipedia Administrators' noticeboard has a spirited discussion about all aspects of the case.

The solution proposed by a poster called Zara 1709 on the noticeboard is to "remove the full name from the article and the article talk page, but leave in the edit history of the article and the talk page. We would even have some sources that mention the full names in the reference, simply because they provide other, relevant information, too."

The precedent for this is the so-called Star Wars kid case, in which a 14-year-old Canadian boy waved around a golf-ball retriever like a lightsaber and then endured painful taunts, leading to an equally painful lawsuit.

Zara1709 noted that: "It is quite important to point out that, on Wikipedia, regard for people's privacy applies to criminals and former criminals, too."

However, another poster, Baseball Bugs, dissented: "There is no justification whatsoever for censoring the names of the killers. The notability argument is bogus, there is no privacy or BLP issue, and the 'doing harm' argument is crystal-ball and thus is irrelevant. And some anonymous German judge has no jurisdiction over Wikipedia."

In reading all this, I am left with the words that were often drubbed into me by teachers: "History is written by the winners."

So if this German request succeeds, might some consider that the winner is Wolfgang Wehrle, the man who, with his half brother Manfred Lauber, murdered Walter Sedlmayr 19 years ago? Dash it, I couldn't help myself. I hope I'm not causing undue work for some future editor.

[moldor]

You may have to observe German Law in Germany, but as Wikipaedia isn't HOSTED in Germany, I'd be telling them to go to hell. Yes, the Internet is "global", but German law doesn't apply to me in Australia, the same as US law is irrelevant here.

[01Phyxius]

Spot on!

[Lerianis3]

Actually, most countries have agreements to adhere to other countries laws (as long as there is not another conflicting law in that country) and Congress didn't have their 'Eye of the Future' ready to see this coming down the pike.

[jmonty--2008]

I really like your argument for not naming the murderer. Let him fester in relative obscurity, but also let him know that he is a murderer, will always be a murderer and he will die a murderer. No amount of jail time can erase that.

[GadgetDon]

If his goal really was to put his crime behind him and live as a normal person - this was not a smart move, since I suspect far more people will be reminded of his crime by this issue, than might have stumbled upon a Wikipedia article.

[dacopper]

...unless this was a publicity move to promote his upcoming book or something. Reminds me of the recent "balloon boy" saga.

[GreeneD-R]

Welcome to News-speak 2009.. My reply to the them would be ..... NUTS!!! (many of you will know what I mean)

This guy is on the record as being the one who killed a man .. by covering it up they are saying it dose not matter. where is the family of the murder man? the should be outraged at this...
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Please keep all posted on this as this isn't something i feel we should take lightly.

how many right will be taken before we have none?

[Random_Walk]

True, but seriously - was invoking a Godwin reference really necessary?

[murph0613]

Germany can go jump. What, must we erase all publications of the Holocaust because it hurts their feelings too? What happened , happened. This guy must be out for bucks. Either he is, or it's at the prompting of his lawyers. When the Germans stop trying to impose their will upon others, either via world war, genocide, or a single murder, maybe the rest of the world will give a flying leap about how they feel about ANYTHING. Kinda makes me want to host a site and invite Germany to try and stop me.

[silkibivi]

Isn't this event part of the public record in Germany? Why doesn't he just change his name to ensure his privacy? His case is groundless. Wikipedia is an open forum for users to add info or revise items. There are all kinds of things on the internet, some of which may be harmful to individuals. He committed murder. You can't change what happened. He has other means of distancing himself from his crime so he can reintegrate into society. Trying to extort Wikipedia is not a good start.

[Lerianis3]

He probably doesn't see it as extortion, he sees it as using the rights that he was given under German law! That's the thing, you have to see things from the OTHER SIDE and play "Devil's Advocate" sometimes, no matter how 'distasteful' it may be.

[Dorothy_and_Toto]

This big baby should have thought about the consequences of his actions when he decided to rob another human being of HIS rights, not to mention his LIFE! HE should be happy as hell that HE is allowed any freedom whatsoever. If he's such a baby that he can't take the heat, he can change his name. He'll find, however, that no matter what people know or don't know about him, he'll have to live with the fact that he's is forever a murderer and that's not something that even a new name will change. And rightly so.

[MMcCubbing]

We should never attempt to rewrite history. When this man chose to commit the crime he also chose the consequences that go with it. Actions and consequences are bound together. Everything in this universe is bound by those rules, from particles to galaxies, single cellular organisms to sentient life. Consequences happen, learn to life with it and move on.

[HamSammy]

cool story bro

[Ron Geiken]

We should probably see how Obama feels about this since he seems to have an opinion on things that he doesn't know much about. The guy changing his name seems to be the most practical solution, but then that probably wouldn't involve a lawsuit. Our laws are not respected by other countries, so we should undoubtedly reciprocate.

[Lerianis3]

Actually, our laws ARE respected by other countries, WHEN THEY DON'T COME INTO CONFLICT WITH THAT COUNTRIES LAWS. The problem is that many times...... that happens, our laws are in conflict with some other countries laws, and they tell us "Go to hell!" rightfullly, as is their right as sovereign nations.

[cvaldes1831]

I have no problem with this guy's name remaining anonymous as long as he is fed to the sharks.

[Orion Blastar]

Sorry but if we allow Germany to control what web sites can and cannot say, then we open up a Pandora's Box of trouble as every nation on Earth will have a right to censorship of the Internet web sites. Then people will never discover the truth, but only the falsehoods and censored information that are allowed to go on.

Wikipedia is supposed to be about the truth, but how can they publish the truth when the German government wants to censor the truth, because it hurt a convicted murderer's feelings and cancels any chance of him getting a job in German society.

[Lerianis3]

They can 'publish the truth'..... they just under German law cannot use this man's name in the article. They can say that X person was killed by someone.... but they cannot personally identify that person in question. It makes a MOCKERY of us trying to rehabilitate people, even murderers, who can change their ways.

[solitare_pax]

He should have been worried about how murdering someone would affect his social standing before he went off and killed someone.

[Paul Isaac]

What mainly interested me in this article was the reference to a "golf ball retriever". I didn't know dog breeds could be this specific.

[LancerEQ]

Never leave your frisky Golden alone with golf clubs, or you'll get all kinds of weird offspring.. [o.O]

[ITcomposer]

I say give the guys' name up, countersue him for oh say $1 Billion USD, and argue the stinkin German ;laws dont apply here in the U.S which they DONT!!!!!!

[pentest]

I agree with you, but it is funny how the US(and its corporations) try to enforce US law abroad.

If it is good for the goose...

[freemarket--2008]

Let the idiots filter the web like any other repressive society. Let's see how long their citizens put up with that.

[Geldtech]

The re-write of German history has begun!

Didn't Hitler do that during his time as Chancellor of Germany?

The name "Wolfgang Werlé" is still found here in the English Wikipedia articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Sedlmayr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Werl%C3%A9

But the same name "Wolfgang Werlé" is NOT found here in the German Wikipedia versions:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Sedlmayr
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Werl%C3%A9

In fact, the 2nd URL doesn't even exist as an article. They've already deleted it.

Wikipedia has bent to history revisionists.

[Random_Walk]

You do realize that the .de servers are likely in Germany, and therefore likely subject to German law, right?

[Geldtech]

Actually, Wikipedia has no real connection with Germany other than providing a German language version of their site. All their servers are USA based. See information in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13wiki.html
Quoted from the above article: "In a written response to Mr. Stopp, Wikimedia questioned the relevance of any judgments in the German courts, since, it said, it has no operations in Germany and no assets there."

[Geldtech]

The re-write of German history has begun!

Didn't Hitler do that during his time as Chancellor of Germany?

The name "Wolfgang Werlé" is still found here in the English Wikipedia articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Sedlmayr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Werl%C3%A9

But the same name "Wolfgang Werlé" is NOT found here in the German versions:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Sedlmayr
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Werl%C3%A9

In fact, the 2nd URL doesn't even exist as an article. They've already deleted it.

Wikipedia has bent to history revisionists.

http://news.cnet.com/8601-17852_3-10396864.html?communityId=2101&targetCommunityId=2101&blogId=71&tag=mncol

Also, Wikipedia has no real connection with Germany other than a German language version of their site. Their site is entirely USA based. Please see this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13wiki.html
As quoted in the above article: "In a written response to Mr. Stopp, Wikimedia questioned the relevance of any judgments in the German courts, since, it said, it has no operations in Germany and no assets there."

[pcOxygen]

Humm. And what of the victim?

German law can only enforce their law over German territory. If the servers for Wiki is not hosted in Germany, then Germany has no say of who posts what, and were. If I post this information and the criminal's name on my site, which is hosted in the USA, there isn't anything that Germany can do about it. So, let Germany sue me. LOL

[Lerianis3]

Actually, most countries have agreements with other countries that they will enforce their laws in said other countries, as long as they are not in conflict with their own laws..... which, since Congress didn't have their "All-Seeing Eye of the Future" in play, they didn't think of putting a law into place that would head off a lawsuit like this.

[grunionhunter]

Gee, no mention now about what possessed these two lights-in-the-night to murder this fellow. Was it their victim's homosexuality, or theirs (are they?), or both? Sweep it all under the rug seems to be how the law works in Germany, like it's a "price of doing business" or in the case of Germany, the price of having a nice looking society. So much for appearances and their veracity.

And what about the other guy, not Werle, but the other fellow murderer? Perhaps this whole thing is some lawyer's self-promotional efforts, and these guys are simply being exploited by this lawyer. Is HE gay? So many possibilities... Of course this whole issue is but one small step toward people creating a universal code of conduct applicable across national boundaries. Shouldn't take more than a few hundred years to sort this out.

All of which isn't to say that a person who commits a crime should be able to come out into society after paying his debt in prison and develop his life as an ex-convict. But to pretend one never committed a crime (let alone murder)? Absurd. Even if the law says that's how it works, it isn't how people work. Would you like to work along side someone who had murdered someone and not know it? If that is how society works, how can any one in such a society have any confidence in the accuracy of their social relationships and impressions of people? Maybe that's the point -- that it's unwise ever to trust. Such a mess, this whole issue.

[grunionhunter]

Small but important typo. Should read (last paragraph): .. a person who commits a crime <b> shouldn't</b> be able..
I don't wish to imply that a convict shouldn't be able to come out of prison and get a life going again. Just that it's a mistake to pretend (by expunging data) that a person who violated social rules enough to be convicted, didn't violate the law. Boils down to consequences, whether there are any, as opposed to costs (which can be calculated and offset). Seems in Germany, offsets are more important than consequences. One interesting aspect to this whole question: recidivism. Are criminals in Germany less likely to commit crimes again (compared to other places that don't expunge the (name on) record of crimes)?