YouTube Gives Users Ability To Flag Content That Promotes Terrorism

In response to concerns it's become a means of radical promotion, YouTube has now added an option for flagging content that is terrorist in nature.

When you flag a video as inappropriate, "promotes terrorism" now appears as an option under the "violent or repulsive content" category on the Google-owned website (see screenshot below).

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) called the new terrorism flag a "good first step toward scrubbing mainstream Internet sites of terrorist propaganda."

Lieberman first voiced concerns about radical Islamic videos on YouTube in May 2008, according to a YouTube blog post.

The site opted to make no changes at the time but encouraged users to use the flagging feature. Now "promotes terrorism" is a flag option.

But not all are fans of the change, according to the Los Angeles Times.

George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen says it is "potentially troubling" and that the phrase "promotes terrorism" can be subject to interpretation.

Some have criticized the move of giving YouTube's massive audience this ability:

For starters, by putting the "crowd" in charge of this, YouTube is effectively throwing its hands up and saying it's no longer the site's job to determine what content belongs and what doesn't. And, as we all know, the main thing we learn when we trust the "wisdom of the crowd" is that the crowd doesn't have much wisdom.

LOOK:

Comments

[ROFLCopter]

01:54 PM on 12/16/2010

Time for me to do my civic duty, and flag every video produced by any US politician or government office as "promotes terrorism," starting with Army recruitment videos.

[Autolykos]

07:05 AM on 12/17/2010

Was my first Idea when reading the title. Great minds think alike?
I'm definitely on it right now...

Oh, and on a *ahem* completely unrelated topic:
What's the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenburg?
One 's a flaming Nazi gasbag, and the other one 's a dirigible...

[tomwaits]

05:18 PM on 12/22/2010

Apparently, this is underway... Flag Justin Bieber as terrorist number one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imu-KBvBeDQ

[Alex Wallenwein]

12:35 PM on 12/16/2010

What a great idea, YouTube! Now we can all "flag" our political enemies' videos as "may lead to terrorism" and have them removed by the reviewers.After all, politics makes people angry and when people get angry enough, they "may" turn to violence, right? Bad idea! The existing reasons for flagging a video are already sufficient. "incites to violence" covers the topic, doesn't it?

[marignymitch]

07:26 PM on 12/15/2010

Congratulations, America. We're now emulating Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as neighbor spies on neighbor. Your national security state thanks you for your eager co-operation.

[ROFLCopter]

01:55 PM on 12/16/2010

The only part that surprises me is that some Americans still think it's a "free country." We live in a police state!!!!

[hyperbola2]

05:52 PM on 12/16/2010

We shouldn't be too surprised that with the Dept. of Homeland Security we are emulating the USSR. Remember Stalin's gulag was founded and managed by jews - who killed over 10 million people before Stalin also purged them.

In fact, we shouldn't forget that in the 20th century, between the USSR and Palestine (over seven million christians and moslems robbed, killed, expelled or put in concentration camps - world's biggest refugee problem), 3-4 times MORE people were victims of jews than vice versa. Now why is it that our "Homeland Security" is rife with zionists? Why is it that a zionist like Michael Chertoff, formerly "czar" of Homeland Security, now makes a fortune on body scanners for Americans?

Why are over half of our "billionaire oligarchs" zionists whose first loyalty is NOT to Americans and America? Why are these "oligarchs" pumping money into political campaigns all over the country (thanks to zionist-puppet John McCain and his "campaign finance reform") to ensure zionists like Libermann and zionist-puppets like McCain are elected? Why is it that the US's biggest political donor is an Israeli citizen (Haim Saban)? Why is it zionist families like the Koch brothers have been founding, funding and organizing for many decades "spontaneous groups" (John Birch Society, Libertarian Party/Cato Institute, Tea party) to keep Americans dumb, divided and easy to fleece? Why are we using taxpayer money to "rescue" corrupt Wall Streeters like Lloyd "I am doing G_d's work" Blankenfein of Goldman Sachs?

[Bifrost]

05:11 PM on 12/15/2010

So...when a news organization runs a story depicting a successful bombing, is that not promoting terrorism in some small measure? What does promotion mean exactly?

Nonetheless, I sincerely doubt this measure was created solely to remove videos attempting to recruit terrorists or to show off their atrocities. I suspect it will be used far more often to justify removing "conspiracy theory" videos, videos representing non-violent organizations opposed to the actions of Israel and its settlers, videos criticizing those in power.

Mark my words, though the evidence is out there for any who care to see - these are the things the DHS and other agencies view as terrorism, and this is what they're mobilizing against. This is why the focus has shifted to domestic terrorism, with "intelligence" fusion centers distributing documents categorizing homeschoolers, constitutionalists, supporters of Ron Paul, and other groups as potential terrorists. Protesters have also been targeted, and in some cases, investigated and arrested, along with having their private information shared with the companies they were protesting against. This is the terrorism they're talking about, and it is what they're trying desperately to stamp out. I guess they're just capitalizing on the apparent need most people have to snitch on others, warranted or not, so they have a convenient excuse to remove videos. Not that they need one, necessarily...I think they just like the facade of fairness.

[NewAmericanow]

02:48 PM on 12/15/2010

Our corporate foreign policy has created terrorism through interference with foreign politics, and condoning global corporate slave labor thus endangering our lives and our childrens lives and our collective liberty. Our monetary policy is endangering our collective financial security while making the poor poorer, collapsing the middle class into oblivion and making the very rich and wallstreet richer. Our domestic policy continues to endanger our liberties with free but not fair trade policies and laws and policies that are designed to limit our actions and control not only our movement and choices but our very thought through the corporate control of our media. These are the people who say they have solutions??? If we are to flag videos on youtube let it be videos put on there by the Bush and Obama administrations for not ending these wars, the Dept. of Nazi homeland security and Senators like Lieberman who are a major threat to our security as free americans. The government seems to be suffering from manic disorder. On the one hand they want to prosecute those reporting crimes through some websites (Wikileaks) but if you report crimes through YouTube and Walmart that's ok. I guess it all depends on who is doing the crime. What ever happened to those liberals in the sixties that protested against vietnam and against government intrusion of our civil liberties like the press and association. We must join together as an indivisable people or we are lost.

[Mike luzt]

04:14 PM on 12/15/2010

More political grandstand­ing on the part of Joe Lieberman.

The Original Truthtube vueflix.com

[Derek Spisak]

07:39 AM on 12/15/2010

I am terrorized by Fox news...

[tantoedge]

12:17 AM on 12/15/2010

Well... good idea, but it's going to get heavily abused.

[thereisonlyoneparty]

10:39 PM on 12/16/2010

Similar to the "Flag as Abusive" dealie on here.

"Abusive" or "terrorism" are taken to mean something that one disagrees with.

[JackHoffman]

04:41 PM on 12/14/2010

I am being terrorized by Justin Bieber.

[JackHoffman]

04:39 PM on 12/14/2010

I don't think it's working too well. I can still watch Imam Beck's videos on there.

[TwentiethBear]

01:55 PM on 12/14/2010

Just used this on Proud to Be an American by Lee Greenwood, already regret it.

[Momklok]

01:34 PM on 12/14/2010

Everything is subject to interpretation. Flagging any posting is always the readers interpretation. That is no reason not to have the "promotes terrorism" flag available. Let's stop bending over backwards to protect terrorists rights to blow us to bits and start protecting our rights to stop them, catch them, and imprison them.

[Broughden]

11:32 AM on 12/14/2010

I will be sure to go through and flag every US military recruitment video as promoting terrorism. I mean if they want the flag used honestly I assume......

[RedDogBear]

12:07 PM on 12/14/2010

I was thinking the same thing

[Momklok]

01:36 PM on 12/14/2010

Really not the same thing, is it . . . And BTW you can thank American soldeirs for all the freedoms you have, which many died to preserve for you. But you are too foolish to bother to figure that out.

[chris tanton]

11:44 PM on 12/14/2010

The Soldiers should have all the respect. But the illegal wars they fight in and the people who send them there have no respect from me. If we want to be safe and free we can no longer sign off our civil liberties for so called protection, or we will be dealing w/ a much bigger problem when we are told that we are now to be founs "Guilty until proven innocent" Have you read The PATRIOT act? It has nothing to do with being a PATRIOT. And everything to do with enslaving the people of this country. Adolf Hitler Hoped people would have your same perspective on there illegal wars, and many did. You see were that got us?

[bellator rex]

12:18 PM on 12/15/2010

You mean like the freedom to be tried in a court of law, by a jury of my peers, while being able to know who my accuser is, being able to see the evidence against me, and to know what I'm being detained and tried for?

Oh wait...guess they didn't fight hard enough for that one, cuz it's dead and gone.

Maybe you're talking about the freedom to live, without politicians being able to unilaterally declare you an "enemy combatant" and forge plans for your assassination?

Oops...that one is gone too. Dang. Not enough soldiers out there fighting for that freedom? Maybe that one didn't get enough attention because they were focused on fighting for the right to travel (as recognized by the Supreme Court, look up the rulings).

But, then again, I don't really have a right to travel...at least not if I've offended some federal bureaucrat that has access to the no-fly list. Or if my name happens to be similar to someone else on the list. Oh well, guess I'll just take the bus, rite?

Okay, I get it now, you're obviously talking about the right to be secure in my person, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizure? Jah? Nein...nope, sorry, that only seems to apply to cops, and even then, loosely. Feds swimming around in their alphabet-soup world can do anything they want, to my person, houses, papers, effects...

[tercio]

11:27 AM on 12/14/2010

Imho this is just another measure wich is supposed to improve security and at the end it'll be used to suppress civil liberties of decent honest people.

[Tristram Draper]

10:21 AM on 12/14/2010

Yeah, this won't be misused at all.

[Zanubiyah]

07:56 AM on 12/14/2010

No freedoms or liberties have ever been won on the word of the majority or the powerful. It is when the people themselves tell thier own stories, that freedom and liberty becomes the majority ideal.

[tercio]

11:44 AM on 12/14/2010

Fanned! :)