That decision was heard 'round the world. In response, millions of modems shook hands, as the online world logged on to protest enforcement of local law on a global medium.

CompuServ's decision to pull the plug came after a month of wrangling with the Bavarian authorities. The problem? The Germans felt that certain newsgroups available via CompuServe violated German criminal laws prohibiting the dissemination of pornography (child pornography the main concern)...CompuServe gave in and cut off access to those newsgroups, rather than chance having its Munich employees do jail time...

CompuServe's newsgroup ban sets an alarming precedent: Any government that deems particular net content unacceptable will be able to block access to such material at its borders. In this senario, not only do the citizens of that country lose, but the rest of the world loses information as well...

Domestically, who's responsible for online content is a hotly contended, and hardly clear-cut, issue... (With the indency bill recently becoming law) several civil liberties groups already have announced they will file court cases on the basis that its provisions are unconstitutional. Other online groups have promised acts of civil disobedience...

In the case of the CompuServe plug-pulling, hindsight may reveal that the service made the only logical business decision it could. Or, it may turn out to be a public-relations nightmare that drives subscribers away. Either way, it is most certainly a wake-up call about trouble ahead on the Internet.