China takes up Pakistan's example

            In a previous blog post, I wrote about Youtube removing content deemed by some to be offensive to the Islamic faith.  They did this in response to Pakistan placing a nation wide ban on the site.  Well since then, Chinese officials have done the exact same thing (obviously this means that the Chinese government reads my blog).  The Youtube ban, which bars the country’s internet service providers (ISPs) from granting users access to the site, is in response to video’s posted of many Tibetan protests that have taken place over the years.  This puts Youtube in a terrible position.  First of all, if Youtube again censors its content due to political pressure, I have no doubt that other countries will follow suit.  The last thing Youtube wants is for countries banning access to become a trend.  Another problem lies in the motives behind the ban.  While China’s and Pakistan's ban may appear to be the same issue, this actually isn’t the case.  Pakistan's ban, and Youtube’s decision to meet their demands, was centered the fact that the videos were clearly examples of religious intolerance.  Many of the videos China is objecting to are of Chinese police using what many would define as unnecessary, even brutal force against Buddhist monks, Tibetans in exiles, and others participating in the demonstrations.  The difference here is that with the Pakistan situation, Youtube was acting against intolerance.  China, however, is the oppressor in this situation.  Many people, including myself, would see the removal of the Chinese protest videos as assisting China’s attempt to cover-up human rights violations (See: “Tiananmen Square Massacre”). 

Video Example:

Youtube finds itself in a tough PR situation.  If they ignore the demands of the Chinese government and leave the content up, they will most likely lose all patronage from the Chinese people.  This is no small issue since China makes up a relatively large piece of those who visit the site.  On the flip side, if the site does cave and remove the content, it could put them in an even worse position.  There is no doubt that numerous people around the world, myself included, would view this as Youtube not only turning a blind eye to human rights violations by actively censoring others speaking out against them.  Not to mention that doing so would go against Youtube’s core philosophy of free expression.  

So what’s a video-sharing site to do?  Here's what I think.  Taking down the content the Chinese government is objecting to would be a BAD move on YouTube's part.  A line in the sand needs to be drawn to prevent countries, or any group/organization for that matter, from trying to bully YouTube into censorship.  This is a good place to dig in and refuse to remove the content.  Unfortunately, I believe that this powerful tool for free speech and self-expression may be reduced to nothing more than a way to watch clips of skateboard accidents, sneezing pandas and “lol cats” while on your lunch break.