#ANONYMOUS has issued a warning that governments are ordering Youtube to censor protest videos to stop populist rage from spreading.
Statement below
http://anoncentral.tumblr.com/post/11697760542/urgent-government...
"Forget copyright infringement, YouTube is now complying with removal orders from governments to stop populist rage going viral.
In a frightening example of how the state is tightening its grip around the free Internet, it has emerged that You Tube is complying with thousands of requests from governments to censor and remove videos that show protests and other examples of citizens simply asserting their rights, while also deleting search terms by government mandate.
The latest example is You Tube’s compliance with a request from the British government to censor footage of the British Constitution Group’s Lawful Rebellion protest, during which they attempted to civilly arrest Judge Michael Peake at Birkenhead county court.
.. We then click through to learn that, “YouTube occasionally receives requests from governments around the world to remove content from our site, and as a result, YouTube may block specific content in order to comply with local laws in certain countries.” "
Full story at Anonymous http://anoncentral.tumblr.com/post/11697760542/urgent-government...
UPDATE 10/21/2011
China puts a gag order on media-outlets for anything Occupy. Occurrences of Occupy in the news has been noticeably reduced since the beginning of the week, and the FT notes, media has "apparently completely stopped covering the topic Thursday."
http://www.occupyr.com/News/thread.php?id=258
UPDATE 10/21/2011
It's becoming clear that the example pointed out of censorship is not by the US Government (but rather the British government), and that the protest exampled is one unrelated to Occupy. Still, there may very well be thousands of cases of censorship by government, as Anonymous claims. Let us remain vigilant. I leave you with a passage from V for Vendetta:
V: You said you wanted to live without fear. I wish there'd been an easier way, but there wasn't.
Evey: "Oh my God...?
V: I know you may never forgive me... nor will you understand how hard it was for me to do what I did. Every day I saw in myself everything you see in me now. Every day I wanted to end it, but each time you refused to give in, I knew I couldn't.
Evey: You're sick! You're evil!
V: You could've ended it, Evey, you could've given in. But you didn't. Why?
Evey: Leave me alone! I hate you!
V: That's it! See, at first I thought it was hate, too. Hate was all I knew, it built my world, it imprisoned me, taught me how to eat, how to drink, how to breathe. I thought I'd die with all my hate in my veins. But then something happened. It happened to me... just as it happened to you.
Evey: Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies!
V: Your own father said that artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.
Evey: No.
V: What was true in that cell is just as true now. What you felt in there has nothing to do with me.
Evey: I can't feel anything anymore!
V: Don't run from it, Evey. You've been running all your life.
Evey: [gasps] I can't... can't breathe. Asthma... asthma! When I was little...
V: Listen to me, Evey. This may be the most important moment of your life. Commit to it.