Many civil libertarians, however, fundamentally disagree with the U.S. Attorney's contention. The fundamental disagreement that has arisen in the aftermath of Machado, pitting free speech against the breadth of criminal codes protecting health and safety, seems only to be reenergized. The Center says that figure represents a 300 percent increase in the number of such sites over a one-year period. Examples of these hate screens place the problem in graphic perspective. Another site, authored by a group called the Charlemagne Hammerskins, begins with an image of a man in a ski mask, carrying a gun and standing by a swastika.
Problems abound for advocates of censorship or content-based site removal.
There is no consistency internationally on censorship and free speech protection. In contrast, the United States protects pure hate speech. It was not surprising that the Website of the Hammerskins group, carried by America Online's French service, was eventually closed by administrators who decided its content was offensive. At the request of the German government, the telephone company Deutsche Telekom cut off access to the Zundel site's service provider because spreading pro-Nazi propaganda is a violation of German law. Human rights activists worldwide have been outspoken in criticizing countries as well as Internet service providers for allowing the hate screens to maintain their online presence.