Video: the New Kid for the Block
Deeplink by Danny O'BrienIt looks like video sites are the new flashpoint in the battle against
free speech online. Perhaps it is that many states control television
broadcasts far more tightly than they control the press. Judges across
the world clearly think they understand how to censor television - and
are surprised when their attempts to do the same to video online don't
work as effectively.
In January it was Brazilian judges who found themselves caught in a hailstorm
of criticism when attempting to prevent all Brazilians from downloading a
salacious video of a Brazilian celebrity. When the only method of obeying the
order at local ISP's disposal was blocking all of YouTube from Brazil,
Brazilian net users rose up and complained. The decision was overturned three
days later.
This week, it was Turkey, whose
Court ordered Turk Telekom to redirect its users away from YouTube to
prevent them seeing a video that poured scorn on Turkey and the country's
founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
As in so many cases of government internet censorship, Turkey's reaction
has affected the free speech rights of thousands of innocent parties,
and done nothing to stop what they want to stop. The
legions of Turkish net users were denied access to tools to share
their own stories, while anti-Ataturk commentary still exists on YouTube
and elsewhere. Meanwhile, nationalists inside Turkey found themselves
unable to post their own responses to the video, meaning that the ratio
of Turkey critics and supporters on YouTube no doubt lurched towards the
critics. Those who agreed with the judges that this video was outrageous
found themselves as effectively silenced as the video's maker. As one of
the four college students who
petitioned the court Thursday, Kursat Cetinkoz, said:
"Banning access to the Website does not punish those who
did that (posted the videos) but the citizens of the Turkish Republic."
It looks as if the court will now restore access now that the one video
has been removed. To YouTube's credit, the company did not remove the
video itself. Then again, it didn't have to: the original user appears
to have deleted it from his or her account.
The reaction in Turkey, and fear of discovery and retribution by the creator
may have played its part in that personal decision. For free speech online to
grow, we need to have not only network operators that cannot be intimidated,
but we also need safety through anonymity for speakers.
viewers and writers. With Tor and other anti-censorship programs, bypassing
the court's censorship was straightforward - and publishing via anonymizers
helps give intimated speakers the confidence to stand their ground.
Related Issues: Free Speech
