I’m breaking my blogging siesta to report this and ask you to please e-mail YouTube. YouTube has suspended Wael Abbas’ account for reasons that no one can understand. Wael Abbas is an anti-torture activist who posts videos of Egypt’s police brutality. These videos are the only mean to expose what happens in our police stations, without them the cry of people who were subjected to torture will go unheard. I really don’t understand why YouTube took this decision. I am counting on you.
Update:
YouTube has restored his account. Thanks to everyone who contacted them.
I have contacted You Tube. This account suspension was outrageous. Let’s all hope we can get this reestablished!
Comment by reine.de.tout — November 27, 2007 @ 11:27 pm
It was inevitable I guess…there was a nice state of bliss we were all in but now the internet has become to widespread a means of exposing problems. And since they have a choke hold on everything else in the country this was just waiting to happen…
Comment by The Guy Who Knows A Pigeon Called Frank — November 28, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
If I had to speculate they suspended his account probably because someone from the Egyptian government complained to somebody of influence in the US and then they probably put pressure on Youtube to suspend the guys account. If you think the US government supports the torture activists in Middle Eastern countries you are sadly mistaken. It may publicly encourage the activists but in private it maintains its global dominance with dictators like Mubarak who are willing to repress their own people for their own sake. If these dictators at anytime decide to stop following those who dominate then they end up having the same fate as Saddam Hussein. The activists actually represent a threat to those who really dominate and this is why youtube was probably pressured to suspend the guys account.
Comment by Anonymous — November 29, 2007 @ 12:09 am
*headdesks*
Tell me, Anonymous, did it ever enter your mind that a lot of complaints originated to Youtube on Wael Abbas’ account?
If you complain enough about anything, people will take notice. In this case, the Egyptian authorities simply did the obvious thing and flooded Youtube with fake complaints. This is *not* some kind of global domination conspiracy, okay? People like you scare me sometimes.
Comment by Roman Kalik — November 29, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Roman Kalik,
So right you are! That is exactly what has happened, and no matter the amount of protest from bloggers and commenters, Mr Abbas will be frozen out. YOUTUBE cannot afford to piss off the US govt.; as it stands, and in light of the overwhelming number of complaints by parents whose children have been driven to extremes after being used and abused on videos displayed on site, this as well as allowing fraudulent contents, they are being investigated for not monitoring their contents properly. It stands to reason that they would toe the line for their own self-interest.
Maybe Mr Abbas can create his own website and advertise it on the blogs of his many friends and admirers worldwide.
Comment by northern shewolf — November 29, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
Good luck to Wael! I just wrote a post on the issue, if anyone is interested. Check it out by clicking on my name.
Comment by Will Conway — November 29, 2007 @ 11:18 pm
Dear Google,
Thank you for the society-transforming work you have done. Who would have thought that a couple of kids playing around with some script could make it so big! I am most impressed with your recent purchase of YouTube. What a brilliant move! I watch a lot of videos on YouTube.
There’s one guy I used to watch all the time by the name of…wait, what’s his name? Oh, yeah, Wael Abbas (how could I forget his name!? LOL. Won’t make that mistake again). He used to have this blog from which he would broadcast—with the help of YouTube, of course—these horrible atrocities of police brutality in Egypt. Most recently, he presented in his blog the video of a man being sodomized by the police with a stick.
With a stick, can you imagine!
I was horrified to see what the police forces were doing in Egypt. I was glad there was someone in Egypt to let people know what was going on, to show us video proof of what was happening there. I mean, can you imagine how much worse the police abuse would be if Wael wasn’t there to make this stuff public?
I’ve got to tell you, as an aside, that I was so mad when it was revealed a few weeks ago that Yahoo had provided critical information to Chinese state security officials that led to the conviction and ten-year sentence of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist. By gee, by gosh, by gum, I was outraged. Thank God, I thought from the comfort of my easy chair, that this was just an isolated incident by one Internet company. Surely this was not something that my beloved Google or YouTube would do!
But I was beyond horrified when I heard what happened next.
But you know all too well what happened next, don’t you, my good friends Larry and Sergey: That’s right, you shut him down. You said ‘no more YouTubing for you, Mr. Blogger Wael Abbas.’
That’s what you did. “Powered by Google” is what is on the YouTube website. Don’t you see, I’ve got to believe you smarty pants are behind these shenanigans. Let’s call it reverse agency.
Shame on you!
Here I thought all along that Google was the good guy and Microsoft and Yahoo and others who have picked on you in the past were the bad guys.
Wow, did you prove me wrong!
Wait, I know what you’re going to say. Don’t tell me: I shouldn’t talk about things I know nothing about. I am a silly, impudent boy, right? Certainly, you have information that would make my position untenable, secret information you have been sworn not to reveal.
Let me guess: a couple of guys with badges showed up at your headquarters in Mountain View and talked to you about the greater good. Better yet, the White House called and The President himself talked to you! Told you some secret stuff to make your chests puff.
So now here you are, with Sousa music playing in your elevators and dining rooms, the king of search secretly collaborating with the government. How special that makes you feel!
‘Here’s the great contribution in your power to make,’ someone hissed. ‘Only you will know. It’s a dangerous mission, and your business might suffer from the bad publicity. But guys,’ the sibilant voice continued, ‘this is a time of war, and it would not do to ignite a controversy in Egypt to distract us in the eve of great talks between Israel and Palestine.’
And here’s Voldemort at his most snaky: ‘This is such a small request, really, shutting one guy down for the good of so many! Egypt asked us extra special to talk to you, and we knew you’d understand the import, the immense import. They’re trying so hard, you know, and this isn’t helping matters any. Thank you, my patriotic businessmen, thank you. I knew we could count on you. You have the gratitude of a nation.’
‘Oh!’ you gush with secret avuncular pride, ‘we so wish we could take the American people aside and tell them all the good we have done in the name of Google and YouTube and all the great innovations that our smart, young people have created. Gosh, when History reveals our role, what a day that will be. Reader’s Digest will feature us. Then they will know. Then they will know.’
Larry, I know you wish you could sit me down, uncle to nephew. And Sergey, you are so sure if I had the whole story, I would be so thankful that Google and YouTube were around…we are so lucky! ‘Oh, if you had an inkling of what we do behind the scenes,’ you would say. ‘We are the best thing that has happened to democracy,’ I am sure you would tell me with star-spangled, zealous eyes and a catch in your throat.
I can just see a Google executive spinning this like Willy Wonka with a grandiose sweep of his hands, ‘Just wait a little longer, my little Google friend, and you will see the tipping point of a free and open Internet closing all divides and transforming the whole world.’
Well, I have seen enough…at least enough to make me lose my dinner.
I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you have the best intentions for this world, for democracy, or even the American people. You cannot think for yourselves. It’s simply not in your computer code-writing DNA. You let others tell you what is politically expedient, and you accept what they say as the greater good.
You are typical of what happens when science and technology are not balanced by the liberal arts. (And your handlers are the very worst kind of “patriots”; they, at least, have an excuse: they’re idiots.) Technology in your hands will not save us; rather, it might very well destroy us.
Well, ironically, you have achieved your intentioned goal unintentionally. You have furthered democracy in a small, but significant way. I was a cynical, dour young man, disaffected to a keen degree of paralysis. Now I am angry and ready for Activism with a capital ‘A’. You have cured my catatonia. You have armed me with self-righteous indignation. You have inflamed me.
Thank you, thank you, a million times thanks, Google and YouTube (and of course, Yahoo! before you) a million, billion megabyte thanks! You have awakened a giant.
See you in the streets.
David
Comment by David — November 30, 2007 @ 6:58 am
I have sent an e-mail. However, I do not believe that Youtube will reverse their move. It is equivalent to losing face and thus not to happen.
I agree with Roman - the complaints were instigated by the Egyptian authorities, although there are enough prudes and idiots elsewhere who could have complained on general principles…
Comment by SnoopyTheGoon — November 30, 2007 @ 9:47 pm
David, I love you! {;-)
Comment by northern shewolf — December 4, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
BP I think you’re wonderful and I love your blog.
Comment by worldly woman — December 5, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
BP,
Thank you for posting about this.
YouTube has a problem: it’s trying to figure out what to do with obscene and offensive materials posted to its site. There’s no doubt that the film clip was obscene and offensive. It was also compelling evidence of a criminal act by a government official.
YouTube has a feature where film clips can be subject to protest, and items pulled and accounts closed. This is a way of bringing specific items and people up for review on a case-by-case basis.
This clip was obscene and offensive, but there were very good reasons that it should be available. And, YouTube’s customers so informed the company, which then reversed itself.
The system worked.
Comment by Valerie — December 8, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
What Valerie said.
Blogs rule!!
David and Shewolf, go fuck yourselves.
Comment by Louise — December 9, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Thanks David, I was sick but your letter made me feel soooo much better. Can you tell me what Google/utube did with contents of Wael’s utube channel?
Stay tuned for “Wael’s big cyber comeback!”
Comment by Eva — December 9, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
Thank Arvind Ganessan at Human Rights Watch. I work in the MENA division and after talking to Wael I got in touch with Arvind who has contacts with the Google personnel working on YouTube.
Arvind pushed to have his account restored and a clarification on why such important work was being blocked. The answer was that they did not understand the content and thought it might be gratuitous.
Tag your postings with “human rights” and you should be good.
Comment by Tarek Radwan — December 13, 2007 @ 2:45 am
emails can’t save Egypt.
nothing can if you insist living in denial and pretending everything will be all right.
Comment by madtom — December 14, 2007 @ 2:55 am
Cool message.
I guess you will like our diary..
Bye
Comment by United States Agencies — December 15, 2007 @ 7:02 am
Not related to this story, but I thought you’d like this:
http://tabsir.net/?p=410
(ex martinkramer.org)
Comment by JJ — December 27, 2007 @ 4:34 am
anâ what you think about teachertube?
Comment by Tur — February 9, 2008 @ 10:21 am
ok
Comment by nils — February 25, 2008 @ 12:07 am
sevenfold avenged little beast avenged sevenfold
Comment by avenged walk sevenfold — February 28, 2008 @ 4:03 pm