Category: Access & Censorship

“You’re not a threat and you are doing a public service but just be careful next time,” FBI Agent David Pileggi to Michael Galindo

YouTube is in a tough spot here. It certainly doesn’t want to play any part, even an indirect one, in fueling violence that has already resulted in four American deaths. But censoring the video also cuts against Google’s stated ideology, which has a “bias in favor of free expression — not just because it’s a key tenet of free societies, but also because more information generally means more choice, more power, more economic opportunity and more freedom for people.” Google’s top leaders have championed the power of the Internet to make society more free by making the Internet more free, and the company has been a vocal and constant critic of China’s efforts to control what people do and say online. In certain instances, Google has prominently defied a government’s request to remove content, such as when it protected videos documenting police brutality here in the United States.

Americans ought to focus their attention on this heinous assault on freedom, and not on the content of an absurd YouTube video.

It’s a losing game for the U.S. to condemn someone’s opinion because a violent mob objects to that opinion for practical reasons, as well. Such condemnation only inflames the mob, which is being told, in essence, that its objections are correct. There has to be room in the modern world for people to critique — even viciously critique — other people’s religious beliefs, and all other sorts of beliefs. The goal of the mob is to bring us back to the dark ages

On Tuesday, Apple was granted a patent that could prevent photos and videos from being taken in particular locations. Other restrictions include forcing the camera to go to sleep so it cann’t be used at all