from abcnews: Can the will of the people protect the idea of free speech? America's founding fathers said no, but YouTube is going to give it a try. In an effort to scrub the video site of clips that promote terrorism or extremism, YouTube has announced that it will allow its users to flag propaganda videos for removal. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the move is a long time in coming. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Independent-Conn.), has been lobbying YouTube to remove such videos for years. He told the LA Times that YouTube's move is "good first step" toward curtailing an effective terror recruitment tool, though lawmakers would prefer for the videos to be prescreened before they're ever even posted. New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, a Democrat, has also asked YouTube to remove some videos, specifically videos from Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric now seen as a major al Qaeda leader. Our question to you today: Is user flagging a good way to remove terror propaganda videos, or is this a threat to free speech?flashbacks: lieberman tells internet to 'relax' about 'kill switch' & cyber/space\war: white house prepping national internet identity authentication plan
And just who are these "viewers" who are allowed to censor You Tube? There are, of course, always those who are offended by the opinions of anyone who disagrees with them. There are those who truly believe that the opinions of others will incite those who are unable to think critically, but the most ominous possibility (probability, actually) is that those who would censor public discourse are the ones who will attempt to remove the truth or those ideas that promote the truth. The NSA, FBI, Homeland Security, etc., come to mind. Who knows who the viewers or monitors are that flag videos and now that Google is the owner they will play along because of their financial ties to the government. Remember the scandalous cooperation of the telecom companies with the NSA and DHS and warrantless wiretapping? It's just a way to censor the internet and make us think we're protecting ourselves. It is just a part of the natural evolution of the police state.
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