Turkey Blocks YouTube for the Zillionth Time

January 22, 2008

It’s got to be a thrilling experience, surfing YouTube in Turkey. You never know what you can expect. Is it up? Is it down? Is it blocked? Is it censored? Fun times.

First, Turkey blocked YouTube in March 2007 because of a video which claimed the founding father of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was gay. Then, in September, it was just standard “offensive” videos against Turkey’s founding father, politicians, and the army, that caused the ban.

Now, videos offensive to Ataturk have surfaced once again, and boom - YouTube is banned again. It’s not clear how long this ban will last - probably until Google removes the video in question. And then someone will post the same video again, and the circle will begin anew.