Google Says No To Australia's Request To Censor YouTube Videos

from the good-for-them dept

Fri, Feb 12th 2010 2:22pm — Mike Masnick

After Google announced plans to no longer censor content in China, we wondered if they would do the same in other countries, like Australia, which was pushing for much greater censorship online. So it's nice to see that Google is pushing back in Australia and telling the government that it will not voluntarily censor YouTube videos based on Australia's classification. YouTube already has rules in place to block certain types of videos, but it feels that Australia's rules go too far in blocking what could just be political speech that the government disagrees with. What's really amazing (and worrisome, if you're Australian) is that the government referred to the rather oppressive censorship of the internet done in China and Thailand as good examples of how Google should censor the internet in Australia.

Filed Under: australia, censorship, filters, videos
Companies: google

12 Comments

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Esahc (profile), 12 Feb 2010 @ 3:20pm

Wow
Has Google drawn a line?
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inc, 12 Feb 2010 @ 3:25pm

google should run for president
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- Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2010 @ 3:32pm
  
  Re:
  Google would have to be 35 years old before it could run for President. However, it can run for Congress, given the most recent Supreme Court ruling.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2010 @ 4:07pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Perhaps President Microsoft could appoint Google to the Supreme Court?
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Black Patriot (profile), 12 Feb 2010 @ 5:57pm

I swear the politicians here in Australia aren't even listening to ANY of their constituents, because everyone has been complaining about their new censorship laws and they still seem to be going through with them. About the only good thing is there should be an election around the end of this year, so maybe we'll be able to send a message with our votes (I'm not holding my breath).
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- tim, 14 Feb 2010 @ 7:29pm
  
  Re:
  of course they arent listening to us. Its because there was such a dead even split in the senate that the only way the government can get any laws pushed through is to give Stephen Fielding epic blow jobs, and because he is a family first conservative douche, his bargaining revolves around making society fit his incredibly gay view of things. He is the sole reason we are having this debate and eventual epic fuck up that is the Australia Internet Filter (aka single point of failure aka lets hit it with some bots and turn off australias internet). Because you know it will go through, no matter how much we dont want it. And then it will break 3 or 4 times, cut us off from the world, be proven to stop absolutely no child porn, and then in 10 years or so they will turn it off again. The government will hide the 30 billion dollar bill, and then tell us it was a great success, and old people will believe them, and vote them back in. Welcome to australia.
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Coward, 12 Feb 2010 @ 6:47pm

yes
"Has Google drawn a line?"

I hope so, if I were them I'd just tell all censoring countries to F themselves.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2010 @ 5:31pm

"What's really amazing (and worrisome, if you're Australian) is that the government referred to the rather oppressive censorship of the internet done in China and Thailand as good examples of how Google should censor the internet in Australia."

TAM is a member of Australia's government?
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- Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2010 @ 5:42pm
  
  Re:
  TAM is a member of Australia's government?
  
  Hmm. Maybe that's a possibility. After all, TAM has expressed admiration for the way the Chinese government does things.
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Sos (profile), 14 Feb 2010 @ 7:27pm

So the next step is blocking YouTube. Cannot wait for the shitstorm caused by that little move
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kevin (profile), 14 Apr 2011 @ 12:19am

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James Jetta, 15 Feb 2015 @ 9:49pm

Australia The Police State
This government rules buy bullshit it should do something about the corruption within the police than worry about them being exposed tell me how is this government protecting us by introducing censorship and and spying on its own people this idiot who wanted to give the prince Phillip knighthood is the same person who claims that we have one of the best police forces in the world. This coming from the only country in the world that the police investigate them self's the AFP commissioner who heads the internal investigation on them self have investigate the public and media claims and has said "we have investigated our self and found nothing wrong"
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