District authorities of Düsseldorf have been trying to get ISPs to block certain harmful web sites (including rotten.com) for quite some time. According to this report at Heise Online, Düsseldorf ISP ISIS has implemented such a block by tampering with name server records for at least rotten.com, effectively redirecting surfers to a web page at the Düsseldorf district authority (this was reported on FITUG's debate mailing list; the report should show up in the web archives later today). Today, ISIS ended their blocking attempt, saying that it had been initiated by a single technician without proper authority, and was inefficient anyway, according to this news item. The district authority, in a press release, regretted ISIS' latest step, and noted that 12 other (as of yet unnamed) ISPs continue to block the various harmful sites.
A press release from the Chaos Computer Club is available here.
