CRTC asked to block access to U.S. websites

[CHIMO]

One of two U.S.-based hate websites was taken offline Wednesday as an Ottawa lawyer and a Jewish lobby group asked Canada's telecommunications regulator to take the unprecedented step of blocking access to the sites from north of the border.

The website, hosted by Google's weblog service Blogger, was one of two that human rights lawyer Richard Warman has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to review.

In an application to the CRTC, Warman said the websites, operated by a "notorious" Nazi sympathizer based in Virginia, contain material intended to incite violence against him that has caused him to fear for his life.

"We want Blogger to enable free expression, including the hosting of views and opinions that are unpopular," Google spokesman Steve Langdon said.

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