YouTube Blocks ‘Innocence Of Muslims’ Clips In Egypt, Libya

YouTube has blocked access from Egypt and Libya to clips of Innocence Of Muslims, the amateur film that is considered the impetus to violence thatkilled four American diplomats, including U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, in the past day. In a statement provided to Deadline, YouTube said:

“We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions. This can be a challenge because what’s OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video – which is widely available on the Web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube. However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt we have temporarily restricted access in both countries. Our hearts are with the families of the people murdered in yesterday’s attack in Libya.”

Reuters also reported that all of YouTube had been banned by Afghanistan today in an effort to impede viewing of the video. “We have been told to shut down YouTube to the Afghan public until the video is taken down,” Aimal Marjan, general director of Information Technology at the Ministry of Communications,told Reuters.