I was beginning to think YouTube was never going to remove any video from the world’s most popular online video site ever again. But it has proved me wrong by removing some videos showing Imam and Anwar al-Awlaki.
YouTube Censorship
has always fought hard to keep the site open and free of censorship, with the question of legality (be it copyright, indecency, or whatever) being the ultimate yardstick with which YouTube has weighed each individual case on.
This has meant upsetting whole countries on some occasions, with Thailand, Pakistan, and China all having banned YouTube because of videos the authorities in those countries found distasteful.
The most recent example saw Turkey re-ban YouTube just days after lifting a two-year ban because videos deemed as offensive to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk were reposted to the site after YouTube reviewed their removal and came out in favor of the original posters.
Anwar al-Awlaki Videos
However, after intense pressure from politicians on both sides of the Atlantic YouTube has removed some, but not all, videos showing speeches and calls for Jihad by Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Al-Awlaki is a Muslim cleric who openly calls for a religious uprising against all those who don’t share his faith in Islam. Videos of his hate-filled speeches have been indirectly linked to many violent acts in recent months.
U.S. and British politicians made renewed calls for these videos to be removed from YouTube, and some were removed at the end of last week after YouTube decided they fell under the guidelines prohibiting “dangerous or illegal activities such as bomb-making, hate speech, and incitement to commit violent acts.”
A Start, Not An End
There are still thought to be around 5,000 videos on YouTube showing al-Awlaki, and even those removed from the site are still available to watch on other sites around the Web. So the question has to be asked whether this was actually worth it?
If people are determined enough they’ll be able to find whatever they are looking for on the Internet. YouTube is a start, but it isn’t the end.
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