Google should remove anti-Muslim film to prevent civilian casualties

Anti-Muslim film is a threat to peace

Youtube owner Google has refused to accept a request from the White House to review 'Innocence of Muslims' on the grounds that it may violate its own policies.

Despite Google's decision to ban the video in certain countries after receiving requests from Governments to have the video blocked, it will not review its community guidelines. The company also believes that the video does not violate the Youtube Terms of Service.

It is a difficult decision to make because if Youtube were to block the video worldwide, it would be considered as a form of censorship by many, violating free speech, despite the fact that the video has caused outrage.

Check out : Full Length Anti-Muslim film faked

However, as we have clearly seen in the past few days, many innocent civilians have been killed as a direct result of this video being uploaded. It's very existence threatens more lives and it's for that reason that I would hope Google can look at this particular case and block the video to defuse the situation. Perhaps an amendment to the Terms of Service could be made allowing Google to block at its own discretion controversial content in extraordinary circumstances. In doing so, Google would have to ensure that it maintains people's freedom of speech online which is of paramount importance, making any such decision regarding this video very difficult.

With that said, Where do we draw the line on offensive content and how do we move on from here? Can Google defend its critics or should it take further action?