Blocking of YouTube
Encyclopedia
YouTube
, the third-most visited website in the world (according to Alexa Internet
), has been censored
several times in some countries since its inception.
As of February 2011, countries with standing national bans on YouTube are China
, Iran
, Libya
, and Turkmenistan
.
temporarily banned functional YouTube
links from its Live Messenger Service (although the ban was lifted as of 21:30 GDT
). Microsoft
never commented on the blocking. The sending of any functional link starting with either http:// or www. with the string "youtube.com" contained within it returned an error message saying "The following message could not be delivered to all recipients: (original message here)." Coincidentally, or not, Messenger TV, a new video service provided by Microsoft
was scheduled for release the same week.
access. Brigham Young University
, a private university run by the LDS Church had blocked YouTube
access in the past, citing bandwidth and inappropriate content concerns, but this policy was changed in June 2009.
is age restricted through the Department of Education and Training (DET) network, it may only be accessed by students over the age of 18.
Some schools do allow it for educational purposes.
In most East Midlands schools, including RBEC, YouTube is blocked using filtering made available by the East Midlands Broadband Company. Some schools across the UK, however, allow access to YouTube for the students but they are only permitted to watch videos considered to be appropriate. They are not to log into their accounts or upload videos. Also, the WebSense filter doesn't block YouTube for anyone, therefore it is possible to watch anything at a school with WebSense, including the R and S rated movies.
Following the disputed February 2008 presidential elections
, the Armenian Government temporarily blocked internet users from YouTube. The Armenia
n opposition had used the website to publicize video of police and military brutality carried out against anti-government protesters.
In March 2009, YouTube was blocked in Bangladesh
after a recording of a meeting between the prime minister
and army officers was posted revealing anger by the military on how the government was handling a mutiny by border guards in Dhaka
.The block is lifted at present.
YouTube is being sued by Brazil
ian model and MTV
VJ Daniella Cicarelli, the ex-fiancée of footballer Ronaldo
) on the grounds that the site makes available video footage made by a paparazzo
in which she and her boyfriend are having sex
on a Spanish
beach
. The lawsuit requires that YouTube be blocked in Brazil
until all copies of the video are removed. On Saturday, January 6, 2007, a legal injunction ordered that filters be put in place to prevent users in Brazil from accessing the website.
The effectiveness of the measure has been questioned, since the video is available not only on YouTube, but also on other sites as part of an Internet phenomenon
. On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, the same court overturned their previous decision, ordering the filters removed, although the footage itself remained forbidden, but without technical support for its blockage.
YouTube was blocked in the People's Republic of China
, beginning on 15 October 2007, but on 22 March 2008 became unblocked. Reports suggested that YouTube was blocked again from 24 March 2009, although a Foreign Ministry spokesperson would not confirm whether YouTube had been blocked or not. Tibetan exiles suggest that the blockage could be related to a video published by the exiles on YouTube that portrayed Chinese soldiers beating men in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
On April 1, 2008, Indonesia
n information minister, Muhammad Nuh, wrote to YouTube asking them to remove a controversial Dutch
film, Fitna
, made by Dutch right-wing politician, Geert Wilders
. The Indonesian government allowed two days for the removal of the video, or YouTube would be blocked in Indonesia. On April 4, 2008, Muhammad Nuh asked all Internet service provider
s to block the access to YouTube. On April 5, 2008, YouTube was blocked for testing by one ISP. Finally, on April 8, YouTube, along with MySpace
, Metacafe
, RapidShare
, Multiply, Liveleak
, and Fitna's official site, were blocked in Indonesia. YouTube's ban was lifted on April 10. There may still be some blocking in May 2008 according to local inhabitants.
On December 3, 2006, Iran
blocked YouTube, along with several other sites, after declaring them "immoral". The YouTube ban came after a video was posted online that appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex
.
The block was later lifted and then reinstated after the 2009 Iranian presidential election.
On 24 January 2010, Libya
indefinitely blocked YouTube after it featured videos of demonstrations in the Libyan city of Benghazi
by families of detainees who were killed in Abu Salim prison
in 1996, as well as videos of family members of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
at parties. The ban was condemned by Human Rights Watch
.
On May 25, 2007, the state-owned Maroc Telecom
blocked all access to YouTube. There were no reasons given as to why YouTube was blocked, but speculations are that it might have something to do with some posted pro-separatist group Polisario
clips (Polisario being the Western Sahara independence movement) or because of some videos criticizing King Mohammed VI
. The government ban did not concern the other two private internet providers, Wana
and Méditel
. YouTube became accessible again on May 30, 2007, after Maroc Telecom unofficially announced that the denied access to the website was a mere "technical glitch".
YouTube was blocked in Pakistan
following a decision taken by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
on February 22, 2008 because of the number of "non-Islamic objectionable videos." One report specifically names Fitna
, a controversial Dutch film, as the basis for the block. Pakistan, an Islamic republic
, ordered its ISPs to block access to YouTube "for containing blasphemous web content/movies." Blasphemy law in Pakistan
calls for life imprisonment or death. Router misconfiguration by one Pakistani ISP effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours on February 24, 2008.
This follows increasing unrest in Pakistan by Islamic extremists over the reprinting of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons
which depict satirical Criticism of Islam
. However, it has been suggested by some Pakistani vigilante web sites and electoral process watchdog groups that the block was imposed largely to distract viewers from videos alleging vote-rigging by the ruling MQM
party in the recently concluded general elections. Allegations of suppressing vote-rigging videos by the Musharraf
administration are also being leveled by Pakistani bloggers, newspapers, media, and Pakistani anti-Musharraf opposition parties.
On February 26, 2008, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government.
On 20 May 2010, on Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Pakistan again blocked the website in a bid to contain "blasphemous" material.
On May 31, 2010, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government.
The video claiming responsibility for the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
, which claimed 800,000 viewers in four days, was removed, along with all videos of Doku Umarov
. Additionally, it turned out that over 300 videos from the Kavkaz Center
were removed because of having "inappropriate content." Russia was blamed for having pressured YouTube to take such measures.
On July 28, 2010, a court in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur
has ordered a local ISP to block access to youtube.com, along with web.archive.org and several websites offering books for downloads, citing extremist materials as the reason. Later this decision was revoked.
In 2008, during the Russia-Georgia conflict, a video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart making fun of the Georgian president and USA president had been continuously removed by YouTube.
The Sudan
ese authorities blocked YouTube on April 21, 2010, following the recent presidential elections, and also blocked YouTube's owner Google
. The block was in response to a YouTube video showing National Electoral Commission workers in official uniforms and a child in the Hamashkoreib region filling out voting strips and putting them into ballot boxes, with one of them expressing relief that the voting period had been extended for them to finish their work. Sudan had previously blocked YouTube temporarily in 2008 for unknown reasons.
In 2006, Thailand blocked access to YouTube for users with Thai IP addresses. Thai authorities identified 20 offensive videos and demanded that Google remove them before it would allow unblocking of all YouTube content.
During the week of March 8, 2007, YouTube was blocked in Thailand
. Many bloggers believed the reason for the blocking was a posted video of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
's speech on CNN
. The government did not confirm or provide reasons for the ban. YouTube became accessible again on March 10, 2007.
On the night of April 3, 2007, YouTube was again blocked in Thailand. The government cited a video on the site that it called "insulting" to King Bhumibol Adulyadej
. However, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology claimed that it would unblock YouTube in a few days, after websites containing references to this video are blocked instead of the entire website. Communications Minister Sitthichai Pokai-udom
said, "When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban." Shortly after this incident the internet technology blog Mashable
was blocked from Thailand over the reporting of the YouTube clips in question. YouTube was unblocked on August 30, 2007, after YouTube reportedly agreed to block videos deemed offensive by Thai authorities.
On September 21, 2007, Thai authorities announced they were seeking a court order to block videos that had recently appeared on YouTube accusing Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda
of attempting to manipulate the royal succession to make himself Thailand's king.
YouTube has been blocked in Tunisia
since at least November 2, 2007, with a forged HTTP 404
error message appearing instead.
The reasons for such an action are not immediately known, and no explanations have been given. YouTube is the second video site to display such messages. The Wikipedia
entry for Tunisia in English is inaccessible from within the country since 2010. The section contains well referenced accusations against the Tunisian government which it describes as an authoritarian regime. By contrast the French Wikipedia entry is allowed. Attempts to edit in information which is critical of the regime are quickly taken out by pro-regime web-masters in a seemingly organised manner.
On January 13, 2011, YouTube became unblocked in Tunisia due to a promise made by the president earlier that evening. This action was followed by several other changes made concerning freedom of expression.
Turkish courts have banned YouTube between March 2007 and October 2010 (the first ban taking place between March 6 and March 9 of 2007) and thus users in Turkey could not access the site.
Türk Telekom
first blocked YouTube in compliance with decision 2007/384 issued by the Istanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace (Sulh Ceza Mahkeme) on 6 March 2007. The court decision was based on videos insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
in an escalation of what the Turkish media referred to as a "virtual war" of insults between Greek
, Armenia
n and Turkish
YouTube members. YouTube was sued for "insulting Turkishness
" and access to the site was suspended pending the removal of the video. YouTube lawyers sent proof of the video's removal to the Istanbul
public prosecutor and access was restored on March 9, 2007. However, other videos similarly deemed insulting were repeatedly posted, and several staggered bans followed, issued by different courts:
The block in accordance with court decision 2008/468 of the Ankara 11th Criminal Court of Peace issued on April 24, 2008, which cited that YouTube had not acquired a certificate of authorisation in Turkey, was not implemented by Türk Telekom until May 5, 2008.
Although YouTube was officially banned in Turkey, the website was still accessible by modifying connection parameters to use alternative DNS
servers, and it was the sixth most popular website in Turkey according to Alexa
records. Responding to criticisms of the courts' bans, the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
has famously stated "I do access the site. Go ahead and do the same." in November 2008.
In June 2010, Turkey's president
Abdullah Gül
used his Twitter
account to express disapproval of the country's blocking of YouTube, which also affects access from Turkey to many Google services. Gül said he had instructed officials to find legal ways of allowing access.
Turkey lifted the ban on 30 October 2010, but the ban was reinstated on 3 November 2010.
As of 18 September 2011, YouTube
is not banned in Turkey.
On December 25, 2009, YouTube was blocked in Turkmenistan by the only ISP Turkmentelecom. Other web-sites such as LiveJournal
were blocked, too.
The UAE
's telecom regulatory authority blocked YouTube in August 2006, with the Etisalat
ISP in the UAE citing "presence of adult content on the website which is clearly against the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE". Etisalat unblocked YouTube a month later.
An unknown number of videos have been removed at the request of the British Government during 2011, including a video of right-wing politician Roger Hayes challenging Liverpool City Council in Birkenhead on 7th March 2011. A recent video of The Wright Stuff
was also flagged on YouTube
for censorship
by the government
, claiming that it has infringed copyright
. It involved a caller talking about the census
and his involvement with the rapidly spreading lawful rebellion
movement
in Great Britain
. He spoke of actions such as sending a no contract
/return to sender message back to the government
. There has also been a greater level of concern over the government continuing to censor YouTube videos which contain information on lawful rebellion, which operates via old and active laws, such as the Magna Carta
originally penned in 1215.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, the third-most visited website in the world (according to Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
), has been censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
several times in some countries since its inception.
As of February 2011, countries with standing national bans on YouTube are China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
.
Windows Live Messenger
On May 10, 2008, MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
temporarily banned functional YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
links from its Live Messenger Service (although the ban was lifted as of 21:30 GDT
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
). Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
never commented on the blocking. The sending of any functional link starting with either http:// or www. with the string "youtube.com" contained within it returned an error message saying "The following message could not be delivered to all recipients: (original message here)." Coincidentally, or not, Messenger TV, a new video service provided by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
was scheduled for release the same week.
By educational institutions
Brigham Young University
Some U.S. colleges block YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
access. Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, a private university run by the LDS Church had blocked YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
access in the past, citing bandwidth and inappropriate content concerns, but this policy was changed in June 2009.
In New South Wales (NSW)
YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
is age restricted through the Department of Education and Training (DET) network, it may only be accessed by students over the age of 18.
K-12 Schools in the United States and Canada
Many K-12 schools in the United States and Canada block access to YouTube due to sexual, violent, and unusual content, and due to bandwidth consumption.Some schools do allow it for educational purposes.
In the United Kingdom (UK)
YouTube and other video streaming websites are also blocked from access in schools across the UK to avoid distraction from work and to reduce bandwidth. This only applies to students, as in some schools some teachers are allowed access to YouTube to show videos which are educational. This is done through the use of proxy censor systems through the council's Internet provision, which most schools receive through.In most East Midlands schools, including RBEC, YouTube is blocked using filtering made available by the East Midlands Broadband Company. Some schools across the UK, however, allow access to YouTube for the students but they are only permitted to watch videos considered to be appropriate. They are not to log into their accounts or upload videos. Also, the WebSense filter doesn't block YouTube for anyone, therefore it is possible to watch anything at a school with WebSense, including the R and S rated movies.
University College of Technology and Innovation (UCTI), Malaysia
YouTube has been blocked from access to reduce the likelihood of students clogging up the bandwidth. The block time is from 9am until 6pm daily.
Armenia
Following the disputed February 2008 presidential elections2008 Armenian presidential election protests
The 2008 Armenian presidential election protests were a series of mass protests held in Armenia in the wake of the Armenian presidential election of 19 February 2008...
, the Armenian Government temporarily blocked internet users from YouTube. The Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n opposition had used the website to publicize video of police and military brutality carried out against anti-government protesters.
Bangladesh
In March 2009, YouTube was blocked in BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
after a recording of a meeting between the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and army officers was posted revealing anger by the military on how the government was handling a mutiny by border guards in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
.The block is lifted at present.
Brazil
YouTube is being sued by BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian model and MTV
MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil is the Brazilian version of MTV, owned by Abril Mídia, the nation's largest magazine publisher, under license from Viacom - owned MTV Networks Latin AmericaMTV Brasil is one of two versions of MTV available in free-to-air terrestrial television...
VJ Daniella Cicarelli, the ex-fiancée of footballer Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
) on the grounds that the site makes available video footage made by a paparazzo
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
in which she and her boyfriend are having sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
on a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
. The lawsuit requires that YouTube be blocked in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
until all copies of the video are removed. On Saturday, January 6, 2007, a legal injunction ordered that filters be put in place to prevent users in Brazil from accessing the website.
The effectiveness of the measure has been questioned, since the video is available not only on YouTube, but also on other sites as part of an Internet phenomenon
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
. On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, the same court overturned their previous decision, ordering the filters removed, although the footage itself remained forbidden, but without technical support for its blockage.
Mainland China
YouTube was blocked in the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, beginning on 15 October 2007, but on 22 March 2008 became unblocked. Reports suggested that YouTube was blocked again from 24 March 2009, although a Foreign Ministry spokesperson would not confirm whether YouTube had been blocked or not. Tibetan exiles suggest that the blockage could be related to a video published by the exiles on YouTube that portrayed Chinese soldiers beating men in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
Indonesia
On April 1, 2008, IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n information minister, Muhammad Nuh, wrote to YouTube asking them to remove a controversial Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
film, Fitna
Fitna (film)
Fitna is a 2008 short political, propaganda film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders with his view on the religion of the Islam. Approximately 17 minutes in length, the movie shows selected excerpts from Suras of the Qur'an, interspersed with media clips and newspaper cuttings showing or...
, made by Dutch right-wing politician, Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
. The Indonesian government allowed two days for the removal of the video, or YouTube would be blocked in Indonesia. On April 4, 2008, Muhammad Nuh asked all Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s to block the access to YouTube. On April 5, 2008, YouTube was blocked for testing by one ISP. Finally, on April 8, YouTube, along with MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, Metacafe
Metacafe
Metacafe is a web site that specializes in short-form video entertainment in the categories of movies, video games, sports, music and TV.The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv...
, RapidShare
RapidShare
RapidShare is a one-click hosting service that offers both free and commercial services. Operating from Switzerland, it is financed by the subscriptions of paying users...
, Multiply, Liveleak
Liveleak
LiveLeak is a video sharing website that lets users post and share videos. Liveleak places emphasis on current events, politics and reality-based footage such as war scenes from various parts of the world.The site went live on October 31, 2006...
, and Fitna's official site, were blocked in Indonesia. YouTube's ban was lifted on April 10. There may still be some blocking in May 2008 according to local inhabitants.
Iran
On December 3, 2006, IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
blocked YouTube, along with several other sites, after declaring them "immoral". The YouTube ban came after a video was posted online that appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
.
The block was later lifted and then reinstated after the 2009 Iranian presidential election.
Libya
On 24 January 2010, LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
indefinitely blocked YouTube after it featured videos of demonstrations in the Libyan city of Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
by families of detainees who were killed in Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison is a top security prison in Tripoli, Libya which was often described as notorious for mistreatment and human rights abuses by human rights activists and other observers before the overthrow of the government of 40 years standing in 2011....
in 1996, as well as videos of family members of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
at parties. The ban was condemned by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
.
Morocco
On May 25, 2007, the state-owned Maroc TelecomMaroc Telecom
Maroc Telecom is the main telecommunication company in Morocco.IAM employs around 11,178 employees. It has 8 regional delegations with 220 offices present on all the territory of Morocco.IAM is controlled by Vivendi which has a 53% share of its capital...
blocked all access to YouTube. There were no reasons given as to why YouTube was blocked, but speculations are that it might have something to do with some posted pro-separatist group Polisario
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
clips (Polisario being the Western Sahara independence movement) or because of some videos criticizing King Mohammed VI
Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI is the present King of Morocco and Amir al-Mu'minin . He ascended to the throne on 23 July 1999 upon the death of his father.-Education:...
. The government ban did not concern the other two private internet providers, Wana
Wana (Telecommunications)
Wana is the third main telecommunication company in Morocco. It was one of the early Internet service providers in Morocco. It started marketing its internet services representing the brand Wanadoo, thus the name Wana...
and Méditel
Méditel
Méditel is one of three licensed telecommunications operators in Morocco. Its headquarters is based in Casablanca.Méditel obtained the second license of mobile telephony in Morocco in 1999...
. YouTube became accessible again on May 30, 2007, after Maroc Telecom unofficially announced that the denied access to the website was a mere "technical glitch".
Pakistan
YouTube was blocked in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
following a decision taken by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is Pakistani government agency responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunications in Pakistan...
on February 22, 2008 because of the number of "non-Islamic objectionable videos." One report specifically names Fitna
Fitna (film)
Fitna is a 2008 short political, propaganda film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders with his view on the religion of the Islam. Approximately 17 minutes in length, the movie shows selected excerpts from Suras of the Qur'an, interspersed with media clips and newspaper cuttings showing or...
, a controversial Dutch film, as the basis for the block. Pakistan, an Islamic republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
, ordered its ISPs to block access to YouTube "for containing blasphemous web content/movies." Blasphemy law in Pakistan
Blasphemy law in Pakistan
The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. However, in practice, it is only applied to Islam. An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, and attacks...
calls for life imprisonment or death. Router misconfiguration by one Pakistani ISP effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours on February 24, 2008.
This follows increasing unrest in Pakistan by Islamic extremists over the reprinting of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
which depict satirical Criticism of Islam
Criticism of Islam
Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
. However, it has been suggested by some Pakistani vigilante web sites and electoral process watchdog groups that the block was imposed largely to distract viewers from videos alleging vote-rigging by the ruling MQM
Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Muttahida Qaumi Movement generally known as MQM, is a liberal-secular political party of Pakistan. It is generally known as a party which holds immense mobilizing potential in province of Sindh...
party in the recently concluded general elections. Allegations of suppressing vote-rigging videos by the Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
administration are also being leveled by Pakistani bloggers, newspapers, media, and Pakistani anti-Musharraf opposition parties.
On February 26, 2008, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government.
On 20 May 2010, on Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day was an event held on 20 May 2010 in support of free speech and freedom of artistic expression of those threatened by violence for drawing representations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad...
Pakistan again blocked the website in a bid to contain "blasphemous" material.
On May 31, 2010, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government.
Russia
The video claiming responsibility for the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings2010 Moscow Metro bombings
The 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two womenduring the morning rush hour of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro , with roughly 40 minutes interval between...
, which claimed 800,000 viewers in four days, was removed, along with all videos of Doku Umarov
Doku Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov is a major Chechen Islamist rebel militant in Russia. He is responsible for numerous terror attacks on civilians, earning himself the nickname "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"....
. Additionally, it turned out that over 300 videos from the Kavkaz Center
Kavkaz Center
The Kavkaz Center is a privately run website by pro-Chechen which aims to be "a Chechen internet agency which is independent, international and Islamic" that "does not represent the viewpoint of any state structures"...
were removed because of having "inappropriate content." Russia was blamed for having pressured YouTube to take such measures.
On July 28, 2010, a court in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:...
has ordered a local ISP to block access to youtube.com, along with web.archive.org and several websites offering books for downloads, citing extremist materials as the reason. Later this decision was revoked.
In 2008, during the Russia-Georgia conflict, a video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart making fun of the Georgian president and USA president had been continuously removed by YouTube.
Sudan
The SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese authorities blocked YouTube on April 21, 2010, following the recent presidential elections, and also blocked YouTube's owner Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. The block was in response to a YouTube video showing National Electoral Commission workers in official uniforms and a child in the Hamashkoreib region filling out voting strips and putting them into ballot boxes, with one of them expressing relief that the voting period had been extended for them to finish their work. Sudan had previously blocked YouTube temporarily in 2008 for unknown reasons.
Thailand
In 2006, Thailand blocked access to YouTube for users with Thai IP addresses. Thai authorities identified 20 offensive videos and demanded that Google remove them before it would allow unblocking of all YouTube content.During the week of March 8, 2007, YouTube was blocked in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Many bloggers believed the reason for the blocking was a posted video of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
's speech on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. The government did not confirm or provide reasons for the ban. YouTube became accessible again on March 10, 2007.
On the night of April 3, 2007, YouTube was again blocked in Thailand. The government cited a video on the site that it called "insulting" to King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...
. However, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology claimed that it would unblock YouTube in a few days, after websites containing references to this video are blocked instead of the entire website. Communications Minister Sitthichai Pokai-udom
Sitthichai Pokai-udom
Sitthichai Pokai-udom was appointed Information and Communications Technology Minister of Thailand in 2006 by a military junta. He founded the Mahanakorn University of Technology in 1990, and was Rector of that institute. From 1990 to 1998, he was Visiting Professor at the University of London's...
said, "When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban." Shortly after this incident the internet technology blog Mashable
Mashable
Mashable is an American news website and Internet news blog founded by Pete Cashmore. The website's primary focus is social media news, but also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets...
was blocked from Thailand over the reporting of the YouTube clips in question. YouTube was unblocked on August 30, 2007, after YouTube reportedly agreed to block videos deemed offensive by Thai authorities.
On September 21, 2007, Thai authorities announced they were seeking a court order to block videos that had recently appeared on YouTube accusing Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda
Prem Tinsulanonda
General Prem Tinsulanonda is a retired Thai military officer who served as Prime Minister of Thailand from March 3, 1980 to August 4, 1988. He now serves as the Head of the Privy Council of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej....
of attempting to manipulate the royal succession to make himself Thailand's king.
Tunisia
YouTube has been blocked in TunisiaTunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
since at least November 2, 2007, with a forged HTTP 404
HTTP 404
The 404 or Not Found error message is a HTTP standard response code indicating that the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested. A 404 error should not be confused with "server not found" or similar errors, in which a connection to the...
error message appearing instead.
The reasons for such an action are not immediately known, and no explanations have been given. YouTube is the second video site to display such messages. The Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
entry for Tunisia in English is inaccessible from within the country since 2010. The section contains well referenced accusations against the Tunisian government which it describes as an authoritarian regime. By contrast the French Wikipedia entry is allowed. Attempts to edit in information which is critical of the regime are quickly taken out by pro-regime web-masters in a seemingly organised manner.
On January 13, 2011, YouTube became unblocked in Tunisia due to a promise made by the president earlier that evening. This action was followed by several other changes made concerning freedom of expression.
Turkey
Turkish courts have banned YouTube between March 2007 and October 2010 (the first ban taking place between March 6 and March 9 of 2007) and thus users in Turkey could not access the site.Türk Telekom
Türk Telekom
Türk Telekom is the formerly state owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was being separated from the Post Office in 1995. In November 2005 it was privatized to Oger Telecom....
first blocked YouTube in compliance with decision 2007/384 issued by the Istanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace (Sulh Ceza Mahkeme) on 6 March 2007. The court decision was based on videos insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
in an escalation of what the Turkish media referred to as a "virtual war" of insults between Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
YouTube members. YouTube was sued for "insulting Turkishness
Article 301 (Turkish penal code)
Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity, or Turkish government institutions...
" and access to the site was suspended pending the removal of the video. YouTube lawyers sent proof of the video's removal to the Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
public prosecutor and access was restored on March 9, 2007. However, other videos similarly deemed insulting were repeatedly posted, and several staggered bans followed, issued by different courts:
- the Sivas 2nd Criminal Court of Peace on 18 September 2007 and again (by decision 2008/11) on 16 January 2008;
- the Ankara 12th Criminal Court of Peace on 17 January 2008 (decision 2008/55);
- the Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace on 12 March 2008 (decision 2008/251);
- the Ankara 11th Criminal Court of Peace on 24 April 2008 (decision 2008/468).
- the Ankara 5th Criminal Court of Peace on 30 April 2008 (decision 2008/599);
- again, the Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace on 5 May 2008 (decision 2008/402);
- again, the Ankara 11th Criminal Court of Peace on 6 June 2008 (decision 2008/624).
The block in accordance with court decision 2008/468 of the Ankara 11th Criminal Court of Peace issued on April 24, 2008, which cited that YouTube had not acquired a certificate of authorisation in Turkey, was not implemented by Türk Telekom until May 5, 2008.
Although YouTube was officially banned in Turkey, the website was still accessible by modifying connection parameters to use alternative DNS
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
servers, and it was the sixth most popular website in Turkey according to Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
records. Responding to criticisms of the courts' bans, the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
has famously stated "I do access the site. Go ahead and do the same." in November 2008.
In June 2010, Turkey's president
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
Abdullah Gül
Abdullah Gül
Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....
used his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account to express disapproval of the country's blocking of YouTube, which also affects access from Turkey to many Google services. Gül said he had instructed officials to find legal ways of allowing access.
Turkey lifted the ban on 30 October 2010, but the ban was reinstated on 3 November 2010.
As of 18 September 2011, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
is not banned in Turkey.
Turkmenistan
On December 25, 2009, YouTube was blocked in Turkmenistan by the only ISP Turkmentelecom. Other web-sites such as LiveJournalLiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
were blocked, too.
United Arab Emirates
The UAEUnited Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
's telecom regulatory authority blocked YouTube in August 2006, with the Etisalat
Etisalat
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, branded trade name Etisalat is a UAE based telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa...
ISP in the UAE citing "presence of adult content on the website which is clearly against the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE". Etisalat unblocked YouTube a month later.
United Kingdom
An unknown number of videos have been removed at the request of the British Government during 2011, including a video of right-wing politician Roger Hayes challenging Liverpool City Council in Birkenhead on 7th March 2011. A recent video of The Wright StuffThe Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
was also flagged on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
for censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
by the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, claiming that it has infringed copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
. It involved a caller talking about the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
and his involvement with the rapidly spreading lawful rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
movement
Movement
-In society and the arts:* Social movement, a coordinated group action focused on a political or social issue* Political movement, a coordinated group action focused on a political issue* Art movement, a tendency or style in art followed by a group of artists...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. He spoke of actions such as sending a no contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
/return to sender message back to the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. There has also been a greater level of concern over the government continuing to censor YouTube videos which contain information on lawful rebellion, which operates via old and active laws, such as the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
originally penned in 1215.