Indonesia moves to block access to YouTube following anti-Islamic video

Indonesia may follow in the footsteps of China if it’s plans to block YouTube go ahead.

Why would it do such a thing, you ask ? Well it turns out it’s less than happy with a short anti-Islamic film by a far right Dutch MP, Geert Wildes. The country’s information ministry has written to ISPs telling them to be prepared to block the video-sharing website.

The government is waiting until the end of the week for a response from Google owned, YouTube and has said that if it does not receive one, they give the ISPs the green light to block all access to YouTube.

Although, YouTube has yet to comment on whether or not it will remove the video, previous statements from the site seem to indicate that it will not be removing it anytime soon.

"The diversity of the world in which we live - spanning the vast dimensions of ethnicity, religion, nationality, language, political opinion, gender, and sexual orientation, to name a few - means that some of the beliefs and views of some individuals may offend others,"

Basically, the jist of it is, “we’re going to be stepping on someone’s toes no matter what we do. Live and let live, lads.”

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has urged Indonesians not to resort to violence over the film. He has also banned screenings of the film and said Wilders is to stay away from Indonesia.

The video (which contains images from September 11th and quotes from the Koran), “Fitna”, is just another chapter in the book of controversy surrounding YouTube.

Among many complaints regarding inappropriate videos on the site such as happy slapping clips or recordings of bullying incidents are the more high-profile cases. These include that of the young woman who was gang-raped and the video displayed on YouTube and the videotape of a police chase being put on the site.

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