You Can't Make This Stuff Up 091408

Why did they have to think about this?

Hey folks,

I know that some of you are most likely going to have the first thought I did. That is this. Why did they even have to think about this? Seriously. Would commonsense not tell you that this would be the right thing to do anyway? In the "You Can't Make This Up" Category this week, we see that YouTube seems to be doing the right thing. According to ABC 13 - YouTube bans terrorism training videos

WASHINGTON -- The popular video-sharing site YouTube has moved to purge terrorists training films and other videos that extremist groups might use to attract new members, an imperfect process that will rely on users to report objectionable videos.

It's sort of like the post Sept. 11 advice -- if you see something, say something. It's nearly impossible to vet every video when 13 hours of new video are uploaded every few minutes.

A quick search on Google-owned YouTube on Friday, one day after the new policies were posted, turned up several videos on how to make bombs using, for instance, such household items as toilet bowl cleaner and tin foil.

In addition to barring terror training videos, the new YouTube community guidelines include bans on videos that incite others to commit violent acts, videos on activities such as how to make bombs and footage of sniper attacks. Previously, it had policies in place against showing people "getting hurt, attacked or humiliated," banning even clips OK for TV news shows.

YouTube has not identified specific videos on its site that led to the change, nor said exactly how it will choose those that are purged. YouTube does not deny that extremist groups could have used the site.

The Internet has become a powerful tool for terrorism recruitment. What was once conducted at secret training camps in Afghanistan is now available to anyone, anywhere because of the Web. Chat rooms are potent recruitment tools, but counterterrorism officials have found terrorist-sponsored videos are also key parts of al-Qaida's propaganda machine.

YouTube, large as it is, represents a fraction of the video content available on the Web. Videos can also be transmitted by e-mail or other means without ever appearing in a public forum like YouTube.

Google did not include its popular e-mail service, gmail, under the new YouTube guidelines, nor address whether it would ever try to limit Google searches for the same kind of material on other sites.

Even so, backers of the latest change hope it will blunt al-Qaida's strong media online campaign.

"It's good news if there are less of these on the Web," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said. "But many of these jihadist videos appear on different Web sites around the world, and any time there is investigative or intelligence value we actively pursue it."

Researchers have found terror-training videos posted online in both English and Arabic. Videos of varying sophistication appear to show how to slit someone's throat or make suicide vests, said Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert and professor at Georgetown University. Others are violent anti-American speeches or montages of militants appearing to attack U.S. forces.

Hoffman said he does not know which of the worst videos appeared on YouTube.
"It's going to do nothing to take these videos off the Internet," said John Morris, an Internet free speech expert at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Morris noted the availability of other terror-tinged videos on other sites. "This change isn't going to make this any different."

A year ago, a Homeland Security Department intelligence assessment said "the availability of easily accessible messages with targeted language may speed the radicalization process ... for those already susceptible to violent extremism."

But experts in the field debate whether shutting down extremist sites is effective. Keeping them online allows analysts and investigators to monitor what is being said and in some cases who is saying it.

"The reality is by shutting it down, it is more or less a game of whack-a-mole -- it pops up somewhere else," said Frank Cilluffo, homeland security director at George Washington University. However, he said, forcing extremists to find other ways to post videos could give officials a better opportunity to monitor them.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, asked Google to ban videos from al-Qaida and other Islamist terrorist groups. Lieberman said the private sector has a role in protecting the United States from terrorism.

By banning these videos on YouTube, "Google will make a singularly important contribution to this important national effort," Lieberman wrote to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt in May.

Lieberman spokeswoman Leslie Phillips said Lieberman hopes other host sites will institute similar policies. "This is an ongoing debate," she said.

YouTube spokesman Chris Dale would not respond to questions about Lieberman's appeal but instead said YouTube regularly updates its policies regarding content. Without announcement, YouTube included a link to the new restrictions at the bottom of administrative notices on its home page.

OK. So why would this NOT be a good thing? Freedom of Speech. You see, my first reaction was one similar to "about time." Why would there be any question as to them doing this? But the more I thought about this, rereading this article for this posting, Free Speech kept popping into my head.

We have a First Amendment Right in this country to say just about anything we want. We do NOT have a Right in this country to be offended. If you hear something you do not like, then simply move on. Or you have the Right to voice YOUR opinion as to why you object. I understand that we do not have the Right to yell fire in a crowded Theater, but we do have the Right to share information.

By the Federal Government forcing, or suggesting, someone like YouTube to start censoring what they allow, it is getting into dangerous territory. Once we allow some to be banned, no matter how great the intent, we then run the risk of other forms of information being banned. We start out with Terrorists, we end up with ALL religion? After all, if we ban Muslims, no matter how extreme, why not ban Christianity? Some are highly offended at even the mere mention of God or Jesus. So could this be next?

What about the fact that as long as they are out there, attempting to spread their hate and propaganda, we know WHO they are and what they are saying? Could this not be a positive tool for Law Enforcement to use?

Yes, I understand that this is most likely a GREAT thing in most people's eyes, but I not so sure now, after thinking about it a bit.
Peter

Sources:
ABC 13 - YouTube bans terrorism training videos