[Infowarrior] - Lieberman calls on Google to censor terrorist content

[Richard Forno]

>
> http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Print&PressRelease_id=8093d5b2-c882-4d12-883d-5c670d43d269&suppresslayouts=true
>
> May 19, 2008	
>
> LIEBERMAN CALLS ON GOOGLE TO TAKE DOWN TERRORIST CONTENT
> YouTube Videos Are Produced by Al Qaeda and Other Terror  
> Organizations; Videos Show Attacks on U.S. Soldiers, Civilians
>
> WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee  
> Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Monday called on Google to remove  
> Internet video content produced by terrorist organizations such as  
> Al-Qaeda. The videos – readily available on YouTube –show  
> assassinations, deaths of U.S. soldiers and civilians, weapons  
> training, incendiary speeches by al-Qaeda leadership, and other  
> material intended to encourage violence against the West.
>
> The videos are branded with Al-Qaeda logos – a practice detailed in  
> a recent bipartisan Committee staff report entitled “Violent  
> Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist  
> Threat.” These production logos are easily recognizable, making it  
> easy for Google to remove them from its Internet sites. Lieberman  
> called on Google to enforce its own community standards against  
> videos that show gratuitous violence or people getting “hurt,  
> attacked, or humiliated.”
>
> “Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their  
> propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training,” the  
> Senator said in his letter. “YouTube also, unwittingly, permits  
> Islamist terrorist groups to maintain an active, pervasive, and  
> amplified voice, despite military setbacks or successful operations  
> by the law enforcement and intelligence communities…
>
> “Protecting our citizens from terrorist attacks is a top priority  
> for our government. The private sector can help us do that. By  
> taking action to curtail the use of YouTube to disseminate the goals  
> and methods of those who wish to kill innocent civilians, Google  
> will make a singularly important contribution to this important  
> national effort.”
>
> Following is a copy of the letter:
>
> May 19, 2008
>
> Dr. Eric Schmidt
> Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
> Google, Inc.
> 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
> Mountain View, CA 94043
>
> Dear Dr. Schmidt:
>
> YouTube is being used to share videos produced by al-Qaeda and other  
> Islamist terrorist groups. The purpose of this letter is to request  
> that Google implement its own policy against this offensive  
> material, remove these videos from YouTube, and prevent them from  
> reappearing.
>
> Today, Islamist terrorist organizations rely extensively on the  
> Internet to attract supporters and advance their cause. The  
> framework for much of this Internet campaign is described in a  
> bipartisan staff report released last week by the Senate Committee  
> on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (“Committee”), which I  
> am privileged to chair, titled Violent Islamist Extremism, the  
> Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat. The report explains,  
> in part, how al-Qaeda created and manages a multi-tiered online  
> media operation that produces content intended to enlist followers  
> in countries all over the world, including the United States.  
> Central to this media campaign is the branding of content with an  
> icon or logo to guarantee authenticity that the content was produced  
> by al-Qaeda or allied organizations like al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al- 
> Islam (a.k.a Ansar al-Sunnah) or al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic  
> Maghreb. All of these groups have been designated Foreign Terrorist  
> Organizations (FTO) by the Department of State.
>
> Searches on YouTube return dozens of videos branded with an icon or  
> logo identifying the videos as the work of one of these Islamist  
> terrorist organizations. A great majority of these videos document  
> horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. Others  
> provide weapons training, speeches by al-Qaeda leadership, and  
> general material intended to radicalize potential recruits.
>
> In other words, Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to  
> disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons  
> training – activities that are all essential to terrorist activity.  
> According to testimony received by our Committee, the online content  
> produced by al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist organizations can  
> play a significant role in the process of radicalization, the end  
> point of which is the planning and execution of a terrorist attack.  
> YouTube also, unwittingly, permits Islamist terrorist groups to  
> maintain an active, pervasive, and amplified voice, despite military  
> setbacks or successful operations by the law enforcement and  
> intelligence communities.
>
> YouTube posts “community guidelines” for users to follow, but it  
> does not appear that the company is enforcing these guidelines to  
> the extent they would apply to this content. For example, the  
> community guidelines state that “[g]raphic or gratuitous violence is  
> not allowed. If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or  
> humiliated, don’t post it.” Many of the videos produced by one of  
> the production arms of al-Qaeda show attacks on U.S. forces in which  
> American soldiers are injured and, in some cases, killed.  
> Nevertheless, those videos remain available for viewing on YouTube.  
> At the same time, the guidelines do not prohibit the posting of  
> content that can be readily identified as produced by al-Qaeda or  
> another FTO.
>
> I ask you, therefore, to immediately remove content produced by  
> Islamist terrorist organizations from YouTube. This should be a  
> straightforward task since so many of the Islamist terrorist  
> organizations brand their material with logos or icons identifying  
> their provenance. In addition, please explain what changes Google  
> plans to make to the YouTube community guidelines to address violent  
> extremist material and how Google plans to enforce those guidelines  
> to prevent the content from reappearing.
>
> Protecting our citizens from terrorist attacks is a top priority for  
> our government. The private sector can help us do that. By taking  
> action to curtail the use of YouTube to disseminate the goals and  
> methods of those who wish to kill innocent civilians, Google will  
> make a singularly important contribution to this important national  
> effort.
>
> Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical matter and I  
> look forward to your response.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT)
> Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental  
> Affairs