Thread: YouTube Yanks Radical Islamist Videos After Lieberman's Comp

YouTube Yanks Radical Islamist Videos After Lieberman's Complaint

Thursday, September 11, 2008


YouTube has heeded the call to stop featuring radical Islamists' video clips.

"Google's community guidelines for YouTube will now bar videos that incite violence, in addition to videos that contain hate speech and gratuitous violence," Sen. Joe Lieberman said in Washington on Thursday.

"YouTube was being used by Islamist terrorist organizations to recruit and train followers via the Internet and to incite terrorist attacks around the world, including right here in the United States, and Google should be commended for recognizing that," he said. "I expect these stronger community guidelines to decrease the number of videos on YouTube produced by Al Qaeda and affiliated Islamist terrorist organizations."

Lieberman (I-Conn.), head of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent an open letter in May to Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google, which owns YouTube, asking him to yank "videos produced by Al Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist groups" off the site.

At the time, Google said it had taken down about 80 clips that featured gratuitous violence and hate speech, but added that "there's nothing in our guidelines that says something produced by a certain group gets censored."

The "Community Guidelines" on the video-sharing site, updated Sept. 10 according to the official YouTube blog, now read in part:

"Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people’s personal information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate the Terms of Use are taken very seriously. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube."

A brief search of YouTube found some radical Islamist preachings, including some from Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader Ayman al Zawahiri, but no violent clips.

However, clips of bombings, beheadings and other violence committed by radical Islamists are readily available elsewhere on the Web.

FOXNews' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420861,00.html

It will more than radical islamists. There will be a report button to get people banned. I've seen this on other forums and have seen it abused to the point that people closed accounts with the business because a group of people who didn't want to hear certain viewpoints constantly hit the report button and controlled the boards with a radical left ideology.

Originally Posted by Gogo

It will more than radical islamists. There will be a report button to get people banned. I've seen this on other forums and have seen it abused to the point that people closed accounts with the business because a group of people who didn't want to hear certain viewpoints constantly hit the report button and controlled the boards with a radical left ideology.

My thinking too, Gogo. Of course the Aztlan/Reconquista folks will still have their videos up no matter what.

Originally Posted by florgal

Originally Posted by Gogo

It will more than radical islamists. There will be a report button to get people banned. I've seen this on other forums and have seen it abused to the point that people closed accounts with the business because a group of people who didn't want to hear certain viewpoints constantly hit the report button and controlled the boards with a radical left ideology.

My thinking too, Gogo. Of course the Aztlan/Reconquista folks will still have their videos up no matter what.

AND they will be reporting, MCDC, Alipac and any group they disagree with.

This is just another example of technology having moved a lot faster than the laws to control it.
Free speech is the right of American citizens, and foreigners can almost speak freely in their own countries and in some, they will be put to death or threatened.
I don't think that Americans need to be subjected to crap as anti-American as that, and I think there should be no way an American company should be submitted to any lawsuit regarding freedom of speech in this country, while many countries do not allow it.
Freedom of speech is our right in this country. My favorite quote is:
"Talk is cheap, freedom of speech isn't."

This is very dangerous and while I understand teh motivation behind this i worry that anything while not really hateful deemed hateful will be banned because it suits a political agenda. No let the hateful morons scream through their youtube production. Let it all be out there. YOu know what they? "keep you friends close and your enemies closer" Peace!

Originally Posted by alamb

This is very dangerous and while I understand teh motivation behind this i worry that anything while not really hateful deemed hateful will be banned because it suits a political agenda. No let the hateful morons scream through their youtube production. Let it all be out there. YOu know what they? "keep you friends close and your enemies closer" Peace!

I predict other sites will pop up with YouTube gets to crazy about it.

Hate Speech? We need a definition on that fast! Sounds like politicians are taking over Youtube!

W

Can some of you try to access Youtube's Terms of Service and see if you can find any definitions on "Hate Speech" please?

W

found something

Hate Speech

"Hate speech" refers to content that promotes hatred against members of a protected group. For instance, racist or sexist content may be considered hate speech. Sometimes there is a fine line between what is and what is not considered hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation, but not okay to make insulting generalizations about people of a particular nationality.

http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines

[/quote]We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).