Censorship of YouTube

YouTube Censorship consists of the banning of YouTube in certain countries. The countries usually block YouTube due to criticism of the country's government, offensive videos, or racist content found on the site. They might block certain videos or the entire site depending on the decision of the government. 
==Current countries that restrict YouTube==
===Bangladesh===
In March 2009, YouTube was blocked in Bangladesh after a recording of an alleged meeting between the prime minister and army officers was posted revealing anger by the military on how the government was handling a mutiny by border guards in Dhaka.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7932659.stm The block was lifted on March 21.https://opennet.net/blog/2009/03/bangladesh-blocks-access-youtube
On September 17, 2012, YouTube was banned for the second time following the controversies regarding the promotional videos for Innocence of Muslims.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/youtube-blocked-in-bangladesh-over-prophet-mohamed-video-8152056.html On June 5, 2013, the ban was lifted.https://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-lifts-ban-youtube-blocked-anti-islam-film-130028972.html
On August 2, 2024, YouTube was banned along with several other services like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp following the nationwide .https://minutemirror.com.pk/bangladesh-imposes-ban-on-whatsapp-instagram-youtube-and-tiktok254208-254208/
===China===
China has blocked YouTube twice. They first blocked YouTube in 2007 and later lifted the ban in 2008.https://www.infoworld.com/article/2642308/youtube-blocked-in-china--flickr--blogspot-restored.html Then, it was once again banned in 2009 and has stayed that way ever since primarily for political reasons regarding the Chinese government.https://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/ptech/03/25/youtube.china/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/25/china-blocks-youtube Instead, alternatives such as Baidu's iQIYI and Alibaba's Youku were created to serve the Mainland Chinese market. The only regions in China that currently have access to YouTube are the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan also allows access to YouTube.
===Iran===
Iran first banned YouTube in 2006 due to an offensive video about an Iranian soap opera having sex.https://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/iran-shuts-down-access-to-youtube-com Although the ban was lifted, YouTube was banned again along with Google in 2012 due to a film called Innocence of the Muslims.https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-youtube-blocked/index.html
===North Korea===
Civilians of North Korea do not have access to YouTube or any of the global internet, with the exception of a few government officials, and instead use the North Korean Intranet. This is because the North Korean government doesn't want the truth of its intentions to be revealed to its people and possibly cause the regime to be overthrown.
===Sudan===
Sudan has blocked YouTube twice. The first time they blocked it was in 2008 and was not for any certain reason.https://sudantribune.com/article28083/ It was later unblocked and was accessible again until 2010 when YouTube was restricted again following an election in the country.https://sudantribune.com/article34622/
===South Sudan===
South Sudan blocked YouTube for the same reason as Iran's second YouTube ban, which was the film, Innocence of the Muslims.
===Tajikistan===
Tajikistan has blocked YouTube multiple times. In 2012, the Tajik government first blocked YouTube after finding some uploads of criticism against militant clashes.https://www.asiaplustj.info/en/news/tajikistan/society/20120726/tajik-authorities-restrict-access-youtube About eight days after the website was censored, YouTube was once again allowed in Tajikistan.
The same year, YouTube was restricted due to some offensive videos of the Tajik president. YouTube was later allowed again, but was soon blocked again because of a video of the president singing a tune at his son's wedding.https://globalvoices.org/2013/05/27/tajikistan-famous-wedding-singer-splits-opinion/
===Turkmenistan===
YouTube was blocked in Turkmenistan in 2009 for unknown reasons, although it was likely blocked for the same reasons as China and North Korea due to the country having a similar government.https://www.rt.com/russia/turkmenistan-ban-internet-youtube/ Turkmenistan hasn't had access to YouTube ever since.
==Former countries==
*Afghanistanhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-protest-afghanistan-youtube/afghanistan-orders-youtube-block-over-anti-islam-film-idUSBRE88C0JZ20120913https://pajhwok.com/2012/11/22/afghanistan-unblock-youtube/
*Armenia
*Brazilhttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16528174
*Germany
*Indonesiahttps://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/indonesia.youtube/index.html
*Libyahttps://advox.globalvoices.org/2010/02/09/libya-blocks-access-to-youtube-and-independent-websites/
*Malaysiahttps://nasilemaktech.com/need-to-wait-blocked-youtube-videos/
*Moroccohttps://humanrightshouse.org/articles/youtube-shut-down-in-morocco/
*Pakistanhttps://www.cnet.com/culture/how-pakistan-knocked-youtube-offline-and-how-to-make-sure-it-never-happens-again/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/20/pakistan-blocks-youtube-sacrilegioushttps://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/youtube-blocked-in-pakistan/2012/09/17/30081fa2-00ea-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.htmlhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35345872
*Russiahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/29/youtube-ban-russian-regional-courthttps://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58737433https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/youtube-blocks-russian-state-funded-media-channels-globally-2022-03-11/
*Syriahttps://carnegieendowment.org/2011/02/14/syria-lifts-three-year-ban-on-facebook-and-youtube-pub-42623
*Thailandhttps://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/business/worldbusiness/05tube.html
*Turkeyhttps://archive.nytimes.com/thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/youtube-banned-in-turkey-after-insults-to-ataturk/https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/YouTube_banned_in_Turkey_once_again
*United Arab Emirateshttps://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/media/social-network-site-banned-in-uae-124819
*Uzbekistan
==References==
Category:History of YouTube