Those of us living in the west, be it the USA or Europe, often think ourselves as hard done by in terms of the regulation from governments and the authorities.
It is however, sometimes worth noting that it could be a lot worse, and indeed is in some countries.
This lack of freedom to express ourselves, and having to follows certain guidelines and rules is displayed perfectly when it comes to the business of online video sharing.
Whether it be the decency laws allowing only a certain level of nudity, or violence, or the bigger picture of copyrighted material and limitations to share videos we have purchased, there is always someone there looking over our shoulders telling us what we can and can’t do.
Chinese Censorship
But at least you don’t live in China, where the ridiculously harsh regulations surrounding web video mean that most of the stuff we laugh at on YouTube would be censored out of existence.
If you’re in America, you can’t upload an hour long episode of Lost or Heroes to a website, and expect to get away with it, but what you can do is put a privately recorded video of yourself online, and assuming it doesn’t break any laws, the chances are nothing will be said or done about it.
Not so in China, where censorship has got to the point that any video uploaded to Tudou, a Chinese clone of YouTube, gets watched, and judged by someone for suitability for viewing by the general public.
What Actually IS Allowed?
Political opinion isn’t tolerated, or footage of violence, even if it’s a demonstration for a good cause. Sex or nudity of any description is disallowed, as are some incidents the like of which we are completely accustomed to, like an argument between a man and wife.
An example is the case detailed in the LA Times where a popular sportscaster had his microphone ripped out of his hand by his wife at an Olympic Games reception, who then delivered a speech about his infidelity.
Infidelity Accusation Caught On Camera
The whole scene, from beginning to end, and including a distraught husband trying to placate his wife, and a babble of security guards watching helplessly from a distance, was obviously captured by someone on their video phone, as almost everything is these days.
The footage then ended up on Tudou, and was viewed by tens of thousands of people, but before long government censors ordered it be removed from the site. The reason? Infidelity is a crime, and obviously its existence needs to be hushed up.
Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!
Compare that to a supposed similar situation in the USA, where the footage would be embedded anywhere and everywhere within hours, and become a viral hit of global proportions. The couple would probably then be invited on to The Jerry Springer or Ricki Lake show to discuss their problems in public.
The government certainly wouldn’t want anything to do with it, although I’m sure the sportscaster would be pleased with his new found fame.
So the next time you’re moaning that you can’t watch anything you want to online without some busybody having an opinion on it, just be grateful for the freedoms that allow YouTube and similar sites to exist in the first place.
