Yesterday, I talked about Turkey’s crackdown…well…let’s call it outright ban on Google and Twitter and what a firestorm it’s causing. Now, Google itself addresses the issue.
Google rejected Turkey’s request to take down You Tube videos reporting Turkish government corruption. They’ve been embroiled in scandal recently, and insiders say Google won’t take such exposing videos down is because it’s an illegal move. But many at Google fear Turkey’s shutdown of You Tube is just a matter of time, but as of Friday, March 21, 2014, it was still up. The videos Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan wants taken down include him allegedly instructing his son to hide money from investigators. But Google is known for it’s refusal to take down videos, especially when governments get involved. “We support a free and open Internet throughout the world and are concerned whenever and wherever it comes under threat,” one Google employee said.
Legal or not, this is the right thing to do. No government anywhere should be telling major online corporations what and what not to post. Yes, there are controversies about what might be inappropriate or not, but that’s up to the people and parents to decide. That’s not even what’s going on here. What’s going on here is a Erdogan got caught in an alleged wrongdoing and now he’s censoring the Web and wants Google to help him cover his hide. Even a 5th grader can figure this one out. But I give props to Google for taking a stand like this. But I am concerned for Turkey and the people. If the Prime Minister is going this far just to hide this minor of an offense, what other skeletons might he have?