Senator Joe Lieberman Monday called on Google to remove Internet videos produced by terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda from YouTube.

“Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training,” said the Senator said in his letter. “YouTube also, unwittingly, permits Islamist terrorist groups to maintain an active, pervasive, and amplified voice.”

YouTube Responds

YouTube has responded to Lieberman’s call:

Senator Lieberman stated his belief, in a letter sent today, that all videos mentioning or featuring these groups should be removed from YouTube — even legal nonviolent or non-hate speech videos. While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone’s right to express unpopular points of view. We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds. Of course, users are always free to express their disagreement with a particular video on the site, by leaving comments or their own response video. That debate is healthy.

YouTube’s response effectively treats the risks of censorship as greater than the risks of freedom of speech.

What More Would Lieberman Have YouTube Do?

Lieberman’s call begs the question: Is terrorist content a significant problem at YouTube, or is Lieberman playing on people’s fears for political gain?

Users posting videos on the site agree not to post content that is “contrary to applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations.”

In addition, YouTube already bans:

• Pornography;
• Graphic or gratuitous violence;
• Hate speech; and
• Predatory behavior.

Obviously, terrorists, and anyone else, can disregard YouTube’s content guidelines and post offensive content. Because of this, and because of the volume of content published to the site each day, YouTube relies on users to flag content as inappropriate.

In our experience, YouTube’s policies work well. You’re more likely to get exposed to Rick Astley on the site than you are to get exposed to inappropriate content.

Do You Want Joe Lieberman, Or Any Politician, Deciding What You Can Watch Or Discuss On YouTube?

If Lieberman thinks YouTube isn’t going far enough, he needs to do more than call on YouTube to ban content from specific users or groups. Lieberman needs to propose concrete ways that YouTube can improve on its current policy of protecting users from offensive content, while still preserving freedom of speech.

If Lieberman can’t make concrete suggestions on how Google should improve its policies, we have to assume that he either considers freedom of speech more dangerous than censorship, or that he’s just playing on people’s fears for political gain.