| UPDATES BELOW! News stories have reported Google’s decision to censor content within China. But is Google also censoring content in the USA? Searching for "big boom" on Google’s own video search service returns a listing for this video of an IED explosion. The description is as follows:
17 sec - Oct 25, 2004
"Detonation of Improvised Explosive Device used against Coalition forces. We found this one before they could use it against us."
Instead of a video playing, a message appears, stating:
"This video is not playable in your country."
In your country? My country is the United States of America! This is a standard Cox Communications cable connection located in Virginia, USA. Checks with several friends indicate that this "not available" message is showing up in the United States, but friends in Canada and South America are able to view the video. Military operations are certainly a point of controversy right now, but I would expect Google to present all available information within our democratic borders. Is Google censoring information in the United States?
Update: There are more of these censored videos.
Update 2: NO CENSORSHIP. Google has clarified its message. The “not available” message has changed to:
“We’re sorry, but the provider of this video, not Google, has chosen to disable playback in your location.”
Uploaders have the option of choosing which countries they want having access to their videos. These partuicular videos were blocked for viewing in the USA by the person who uploaded them. Thanks for setting the record straight, Google.
I understand licensing issues can complicate content distribution, but the vast majority of videos uploaded to video.google.com don’t need the option to block countries. Why would Google create a giant library of content which is only partly viewable? Furthermore, why show blocked content in search results? That just frustrates users.
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