White House Asks YouTube to Review Anti-Muslim Video; YouTube Says It Already Did

The Obama administration said on Friday that it had asked YouTube to consider removing the anti-Muslim video that has recently sparked global controversy and violence — with victims including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in Benghazi.

But this was more of a public comment than a formal takedown notice. The White House requested that YouTube review the “Innocence of Muslims” movie trailer for terms-of-use violations, rather than asking that it be taken down. “We cannot and will not squelch freedom of expression in this country,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney, per Politico.

A YouTube spokesman noted today that the site had earlier this week blocked access to the video in India, Indonesia, Libya and Egypt.

YouTube said it did not restrict access to the video as the results of requests from the White House, and added that it will not be re-reviewing anything at the request of the White House because the video has already been determined to comply with YouTube Community Guidelines.

In order to remove illegal content, the site requires a court order or official government notification in the countries where it operates.