Russia Blocks ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Video, Plans to Block YouTube Entirely

Share

Tweet

In a fairly unsurprising move, the ultra-censored nation of Russia has blocked the very controversial “Innocence of Muslims” video, and is considering blocking YouTube entirely.

Moscow’s Tverskoy Court ruled on Monday that the video should be unavailable to Russian YouTube viewers because of its “extremist” message.

Prosecutor Viktoria Maslova argued that the video “puts the Islamic religion in a bad light and aids the rise of religious intolerance in the Russian Federation.”

While many countries have made similar moves in blocking the video, and for rather fair reasons, Russia’s announcement has been seen as just a stepping-stone towards a nationwide blackout of YouTube, which is expected to occur on November 1^st, when the country enacts its controversial censorship bill 89417-6.

That bill, which has faced a great deal of opposition to no avail, would allow government officials to shut down any web site if it “does not remove offending material within 24 hours of receiving a warning.”

Since Google, which owns YouTube, has refused to remove the “innocence of Muslims” video, YouTube could be shut down under the new Russian law.

Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have already blocked YouTube in response to the video, while Libya, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia have blocked the video, while still leaving YouTube accessible. It seems Russia is just the newt country to join the growing list.

Image Credit: The Associated Press