to create a truly custom program for you. That's URL_TOKEN Then, we should definitely talk about this huge YouTube news, and it is a critical story, so if this video gets lower views, I'm blaming that, and I'm gonna call up Ethan Klein and say, "Talk to your friend, Susan Wojcicki, help me out." I'm kidding. But actually, YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, is right now facing serious backlash after saying that free speech is one of the company's core values. As far as why would that be a controversial thing to say? Don't we want free speech? Isn't that a core value? Well, as it turns out, it's because those words came out of her mouth after YouTube and other tech giants gave into Russian government demands to silence jailed politician, Alexey Navalny and his Smart Voting app. But if you missed it, Google, Apple, and other tech companies were required to remove references and search results related to Smart Voting from their platforms after the Moscow Arbitration tribunal claimed that the app was illegal. But it appears that all the app actually did was connect voters with the few opposition candidates left in the election because, I mean, nearly all of them were barred from running by the government. Or even just showcase candidates that were not completely pro-Putin. But the alleged issue for the Russian government here was that the app was linked to certain Navalny-backed organizations that they said to be extremist earlier this year. And so in the end, what we saw were these companies caving, taking the Smart Voting app off their platforms, with YouTube following their lead, taking down a Smart Voting video, which then all brings us back to Wojcicki's comments, which came after her conversation with Bloomberg on Monday. Because just after saying that free speech was a core value, she went on to say, "But when we work with governments, there are many things that we have to take in consideration, whether it's local laws or what's happening on the ground. So there's always going to be multiple considerations." With Wojcicki also declining to comment on the specific request from the Russian government. And so a lot of people saw her comments as insincere, with Navalny himself even Tweeting from prison, "If something surprised me in the latest elections, it was not how Putin forged the results, but how obediently the almighty Big Tech turned into his accomplices." With him going on to add, "I know that most of those who work at Google, Apple, et cetera, are honest and good people. I urge them not to put up with the cowardice of their bosses." So with that, there were Google employees blasting the company for taking down the Smart Voting app. But at the same time, we've also seen people saying YouTube and Google, they're just in a tough spot. Noting that Russian authorities not only threatened hefty fines against companies that refused to take down Smart Voting, but they also reportedly threatened to bring serious criminal charges and arrest local staff if the companies didn't bend to the government's demands. Which, actually, Navalny also touched on this, writing, "The media write that the Kremlin forced Big Tech to make concessions by showing them a list of their employees to be arrested.
START_SPONSOR_TOKEN to create a truly custom program for you. That's URL_TOKEN END_SPONSOR_TOKEN