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In a rare but not unprecedented move, YouTube has blocked offending videos of prophet Muhammad in Egypt and Libya where people were already rioting because of them.
The move is designed to calm spirits and put an end to the violence, but it's still voluntary censorship any way you look at it....
Still, the EFF is concerned that self-censorship is never a good idea. "Once YouTube has made the decision to pro-actively censor its content, they start down a slippery slope that ends in YouTube Knows Best moral policing of every video on their site. It is disappointing to see YouTube turn it
Originally posted by Arbitrageur
Is the EFF right about this being a step on a slippery slope that leads to "YouTube Knows Best moral policing of every video on their site?"
True, but you don't allow access by people in some countries and deny access to people in other countries, do you? I think that's what the EFF was on about and policing was their choice of words, as you can see from the quote marks.
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
If I go delete some pictures from my photobucket site, I'm not "policing" anyone. It's my business.
I don't know the laws there. However, the source I linked to in the OP says this:
Originally posted by Terminal1
Does Libya and Egypt have a constitutional right to free speech like we do in the U. S.?
The wording is a but nebulous to me. It raises the question, but I don't think it really answers it. It may just be a PR trick by youtube to deflect criticism, but I don't really know.
But, of course, free speech, in the US at least, protects offensive speech and does so even if it has no merit, artistic or otherwise. That said, the same free speech rules don't apply in Egypt or Libya. What's more, Google has offices in Egypt and may have run afoul of laws there.
Originally posted by Arbitrageur
I don't know the laws there. However, the source I linked to in the OP says this:
Originally posted by Terminal1
Does Libya and Egypt have a constitutional right to free speech like we do in the U. S.?
The wording is a but nebulous to me. It raises the question, but I don't think it really answers it. It may just be a PR trick by youtube to deflect criticism, but I don't really know.
But, of course, free speech, in the US at least, protects offensive speech and does so even if it has no merit, artistic or otherwise. That said, the same free speech rules don't apply in Egypt or Libya. What's more, Google has offices in Egypt and may have run afoul of laws there.
Originally posted by detachedindividual
1. Secure all US sites in all Muslim nations to the best of my ability.
2. Order a government investigation to track down and arrest, interview and charge those responsible for creating or funding this video - it was done under suspicious circumstances, funded by religious extremists, and many of those filmed were lied to in order to get them to participate - that is fraud, and it has put their lives at risk.
YouTube is well within its rights to block videos anywhere it sees fit.