YouTube At Risk Of Russia Blackout

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 19, 2012 (Issue # 1727)

MOSCOW — Russian Internet users could face a YouTube blackout if a video clip responsible for ongoing protests across the Muslim world is declared extremist by authorities, a top government official warned Tuesday.

“Jokes aside, but because of this clip, access to YouTube could be completely blocked on Nov. 3 to 5 on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Press and Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov wrote on Twitter.

Nikiforov’s comments come after the low-budget movie trailer “Innocence of Muslims,” which mocks Islam and portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a greedy womanizer, prompted a wave of violent demonstrations in countries from the Middle East to North Africa and Europe.

In the latest episode of violence, on Tuesday an Afghan insurgent group launched a suicide attack near Kabul Airport that killed 12 people, mostly Russian and South African pilots, saying the attack was launched in retaliation for the film, media reports said.

Russian authorities could now respond by placing YouTube on a list of banned sites once a new law restricting access to content deemed extremist enters force Nov. 1, Nikiforov said.

Google, the Internet search giant that controls video-hosting site YouTube, has refused to delete the 14-minute clip from its servers, despite requests from the U.S. White House. But the company has said it will block access to the video in specific countries if local authorities or courts demand it.