VideoGoogle Defeated in Russian YouTube Censorship Case

Google Defeated in Russian YouTube Censorship Case

A video flagged as illegal on YouTube by Russian governing bodies and taken down by Google was appealed in court, citing the censorship was unjust. Google was defeated. A Moscow court has ruled that the video will remain censored under the law.

YouTube LogoIn February, Google filed an appeal in Russia to challenge the censorship of a YouTube video deemed unlawful. This week, Google was defeated.

“How to cut a vein” is the (paraphrased) title of a video that sparked a legal suit between Google, its subsidiary YouTube and Russian governing bodies.

The video reportedly violated the 2012 amendment to Russia’s Act for Information, aimed at the “protection of children from information harmful to their health and development.”

The amendment allows governing bodies to restrict information, including Web content related to suicide, drugs, and child sex abuse without first going to trial.

The video in question (below) was described by author Darina Snegova to The Wall Street Journal as a lesson on makeup.

Google challenged Russia’s censorship, saying, “We do not believe that the goal of the law was to limit access to videos that are clearly intended to entertain viewers.”

Other critics of the law say it could lead to more censorship by the government outside of its original intent.

It’s no secret that Google receives thousands of government requests worldwide to takedown content each year, and the search engine reported it doescomply at times.

In this case, Google said it was “disappointed” and in a statement, that it would “review the decision and consider our options.”

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