Dramatica owner could face charges

The US-based owner of a satirical Wikipedia-style website may be charged under Australian law over a deliberately offensive article about Aborigines.

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) contacted Encyclopedia Dramatica owner Joseph Evers, after 20 indigenous Australians complained about the article's content.

Earlier this year the same article — which includes numerous offensive depictions of Aborigines — was removed from Google's search listings after a request from the Human Rights Commission.

The article has remained on the Encyclopedia Dramatica website.

Joseph Evers, the owner of Encyclopedia Dramatica, published the first page of an email from HREOC on his website's blog today.

"This is an initial investigation into charging me, personally, with the violation of Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act," Evers wrote.

Although Evers lives in the US, the email cites a previous court case in which a US company was charged under Australian law.

"While I act in complete compliance with both the civil and criminal codes of the United States of America, and am assured the right of free speech according to our constitution … I can personally be jailed and fined for the violation of this law."

Evers stressed in his latest blog post that he would not be removing the article.

"Encyclopedia Dramatica will never be censored in any way," he said.

Encyclopedia Dramatica is a satirical website that often goes to extreme lengths to shock readers.

In addition to the Aboriginal article, there are several other pieces — including one lampooning the death of Bundaberg girl Trinity Bates — that have been criticised in the past.

ninemsn recently interviewed one of the site's top moderators, who defended the site, saying "it is the only collaborative publishing platform on the internet that allows completely free speech."

When asked whether the article "Aboriginal" was written by racist bullies, the moderator — who did not want to be named — said that he believed the article to be a comedy piece.

"Bullying is when someone gets beaten. Satire is when an article gets written on an Internet comedy website," he said.

Encyclopedia Dramatica is believed to be one of the websites that will be banned in Australia under upcoming internet filtering legislation.

The online community Anonymous, which is responsible for several hacking attacks against government websites in protest of the proposed filter, is strongly associated with Encyclopedia Dramatica.

The email from the Human Rights Commission to Evers cites a 2002 court case in which an Australian businessman was able to sue a US company for defamation over an article published online.

Dow Jones & Co Inc ended up paying the defendant, mining entrepreneur Joseph Gutnick, $580,000 in fees and damages.

Evers wrote that he had been advised never to return to Australia.

"My counsel has advised me that I can never under any circumstances visit my family in Sydney again, nor otherwise make any appearances on Australian soil," he wrote.

"Here's to the hidden cost of freedom."