YouTube terminates YPG account for second time
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – For the second time, YouTube has temporarily suspended the account of the Kurdish YPG media office.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed Kurdish force fighting ISIS as part of the US-backed SDF, said their account was closed “for some video contents that allegedly violate the Community Guidelines of YouTube,” in a statement published on Sunday.
The account was closed on Friday, the statement added. It was reactivated late Sunday evening.
In August, YouTube temporarily suspended the same account, again for violating guidelines.
As part of its Community Guidelines, videos containing violent or graphic content, hateful content, or threats may be removed, age-restricted, or result in the user being banned from YouTube.
Accounts can be terminated if they repeatedly violate the guidelines, or based on a “single case of severe abuse” or if they are “dedicated to a policy violation” such as hate speech or harassment, YouTube details on its website.
YouTube accounts can be flagged for alleged violations by individual users and owners of terminated accounts can appeal the decision.
The YPG stated it has avoided publishing videos that violate these guidelines. The videos YouTube stated that were problematic were ones published during the battle for Kobane in fall 2014, the YPG stated.
“The videos were published in order to share the reality of the battle and resistance of the YPG against ISIS terrorism with the rest of the world. Aggravated circumstances of that time and the reality of the fight were pictured in those videos,” the YPG statement asserted.
Recent videos posted by the YPG focus on the battles against ISIS in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, highlighting the plight of civilians caught in the war and reconstruction of damaged areas while avoiding graphic content, the statement added.
The YPG claimed the closure of its YouTube account was a political decision and a blow to freedom of speech.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed Kurdish force fighting ISIS as part of the US-backed SDF, said their account was closed “for some video contents that allegedly violate the Community Guidelines of YouTube,” in a statement published on Sunday.
The account was closed on Friday, the statement added. It was reactivated late Sunday evening.
In August, YouTube temporarily suspended the same account, again for violating guidelines.
As part of its Community Guidelines, videos containing violent or graphic content, hateful content, or threats may be removed, age-restricted, or result in the user being banned from YouTube.
Accounts can be terminated if they repeatedly violate the guidelines, or based on a “single case of severe abuse” or if they are “dedicated to a policy violation” such as hate speech or harassment, YouTube details on its website.
YouTube accounts can be flagged for alleged violations by individual users and owners of terminated accounts can appeal the decision.
The YPG stated it has avoided publishing videos that violate these guidelines. The videos YouTube stated that were problematic were ones published during the battle for Kobane in fall 2014, the YPG stated.
“The videos were published in order to share the reality of the battle and resistance of the YPG against ISIS terrorism with the rest of the world. Aggravated circumstances of that time and the reality of the fight were pictured in those videos,” the YPG statement asserted.
Recent videos posted by the YPG focus on the battles against ISIS in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, highlighting the plight of civilians caught in the war and reconstruction of damaged areas while avoiding graphic content, the statement added.
The YPG claimed the closure of its YouTube account was a political decision and a blow to freedom of speech.
Last updated at 11:09 pm