Friday, April 11, 2008

Indonesia Ends Ban on YouTube over Geert Wilders’ Film, Fitna

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesian Internet providers have stopped blocking YouTube and other file-sharing Web sites showing an anti-Islam film made by a Dutch politician after complaints from Web users.

The online service providers said Friday they will instead try to block access to individual pages on the sites carrying Geert Wilders' short film.

"It is like removing cancer from the body without making the patient die," Information and Communication Minister Mohammad Nuh told reporters.

On Tuesday, the government in the world's most populous Muslim nation ordered Internet service providers to block YouTube, MySpace and other sites, but savvy surfers had little trouble circumventing the ban.

In an editorial, The Jakarta Post newspaper said the ban "sent a disturbing sign that the president and his advisers are not only dumb, but also dangerous. It shows a mind-set that takes us back a decade to the era of censorship." Indonesia Ends Ban on YouTube over Anti-Islam Film >>> Associated Press | April 11, 2008

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