The signer's of this position believe in free speech and do not condone the violence that is being done in protest of "Innocence of Muslims."
We also believe in corporate responsibility. The leadership at YouTube has put out a statement that the "Innocence of Muslims" video does not violate it's terms of service. The signer's of this petition strongly disagree with YouTubes decision and would like them to remove the video for the following reasons:
- Given the international backlash against the video, the content of the video constitutes harassment. Based on the Community Guidelines published on Youtube's website, harassment is not appropriate behavior on Youtube: "It comes down to respect. YouTube is all about sharing and interacting with the community in respectful ways. If you're not sure whether a video or comment you've made crosses the line, follow a simple rule of thumb: if you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it on YouTube. And if you're looking to attack, harass, demean, or impersonate others, go elsewhere.
- The contents of the video constitute hate speech: Again, based on the Community Guidelines, " 'Hate speech' refers to content that promotes hatred against members of a protected group. For instance, racist or sexist content may be considered hate speech. Sometimes there is a fine line between what is and what is not considered hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation, but not okay to make insulting generalizations about people of a particular nationality."
- The video is both shocking and disgusting: "The world is a dangerous place. Sometimes people do get hurt and it’s inevitable that these events may be documented on YouTube. However, it’s not okay to post violent or gory content that’s primarily intended to be shocking, sensational or disrespectful. If a video is particularly graphic or disturbing, it should be balanced with additional context and information. For instance, including a clip from a slaughter house in a video on factory farming may be appropriate. However, stringing together unrelated and gruesome clips of animals being slaughtered in a video may be considered gratuitous if its purpose is to shock rather than illustrate.
- The actors in the movie were mislead into participating in the video, and are experiencing emotional and professional distress.
We would like YouTube to do one of the following:
- remove the video from its site completely
- require that YouTube users who have this video on their channel, make this video private