Google Reposts Barred Turkish Videos
Google Inc. on Monday appeared to be set for a renewed clash with Turkey’s government, when it reposted videos that a court had ruled insulting to the republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, effectively rejecting an attempt to end a ban on YouTube in Turkey.
The four videos, which have kept YouTube banned here since May 2008, were taken off the Web late last week by a Turkish group of self-described “volunteers,” working closely with the government. The group used Google’s automatic copyright protection system to have the clips removed.
Turks were able to access YouTube directly for the first time in more than two years last weekend, after a court on Saturday lifted the ban, noting that the offending clips were now gone. Google, however, said Monday it was restoring the videos, while critics described the volunteers’ copyright plan as an enabler for censorship.
