Government Orders YouTube To Censor Protest Videos
In a frightening example of how the state is tightening its grip around the “free” Internet, it has emerged that You Tube is complying with thousands of requests from governments to censor and remove videos that show protests and other examples of citizens simply asserting their rights, while also deleting search terms by government mandate.
oh fucks no!
Why not say “no”. Oh, right: same sides! Never mind.
C’mon guys… This is a case of needing to remember that the internet is serious business. If you actually click through and read the article, it’s fairly suspect and doesn’t shy away from some pretty fuzzy logic. It’s also hosted on a site, that while far from batshit crazy, does have a certain “tinfoil hat” aura to it.
The authors don’t seem to understand that while Google lists takedown requests by country, that doesn’t mean it was that country’s government that made the request. Even a cursory scroll through the list shows that most of the requests pertained to the defamation of individuals.
There are lots of issues with the amount of power Google wields and how their takedown system works. And, as their affair with China suggests, they’re not above acquiescing to the censorious requests of governments. Regardless, this is not the kind of half-baked analysis of the situation that we want to be spreading through the intertubes.
Yes, of course. Thanks, lukesimcoe. I didn’t read it very thoroughly and I don’t know the source at all.
