Youtube unblocked in Morocco
May 29th, 2007The power of mobilization and the realization of Maroc Telecom that it did something incredibly stupid have led to the unblocking of Youtube.
As of today, all customers of Maroc Telecom gained back access to Youtube.
Why? Because the Moroccan blogosphere finally woke up and protested the ban.
We collectively started screaming and joined hands in letting the world know how Maroc Telecom treats freedom of speech.
That it treats freedom of speech even worse than the government.
It is not an all-out victory though. Google Earth and Livejournal are still blocked.
But we at least overturned the Youtube-bock, with our own voices and actions.
Nearly all active Moroccan bloggers protested and helped out. Male, female, black, white, Moroccan or expat.
And that is something to be applauded.
And for all you Mideast Youth-readers, thanks for signing, digging and your support!
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This is a great victory for the blogosphere, and I congratulate you for your marvelous efforts!
Youssef, you had a huge hand in this. Thank you for all you did, first of all – but also to everyone from many different countries who mobilized – did you see all the international news efforts today? Even RSF picked it up!
[...] Without Borders MidEast Youth Associated Press Article (via San Jose Mercury – surprising how many local papers in the States [...]
[...] MidEastYouth broke the news this evening that YouTube, which had been blocked by Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s leading internet provider, has been restored to subscribers. It seems that the blogging community, with the help of bigger sites like this one, helped to get the story noticed by majors like Reporters Without Borders. Youssef of MidEastYouth says: “As of today, all customers of Maroc Telecom gained back access to Youtube. Why? Because the Moroccan blogosphere finally woke up and protested the ban. We collectively started screaming and joined hands in letting the world know how Maroc Telecom treats freedom of speech. That it treats freedom of speech even worse than the government. It is not an all-out victory though. Google Earth and Livejournal are still blocked. But we at least overturned the Youtube-bock, with our own voices and actions. Nearly all active Moroccan bloggers protested and helped out. Male, female, black, white, Moroccan or expat. And that is something to be applauded.” Share This [...]
It appears the power of Moroccan bloggers is more important
than journalists and national press.
This applies to the blogosphere in general. Remember, now the people mobilizing international media outlets are actually the bloggers themselves. Bloggers are the ones both creating and making the news.
Ouuuf… FINALLY
It was the most stupid (best otherway) joke from Maroc Telecom …
Thank you guys for your effort!
Heheheheheeee…. finally a victory for bloggers – this was badly needed – seeing that all the protests against Karim’s emprisonment don’t seem to move those egyptian officials….
Great the youtube can be viewed again in Morocco and great getting the selfconfidence in what blogging is all about reassured.
Hi Yousef,
I linked to your post in an article I published on NowPublic.com, where I am an editor. Feel free to check out the site and add your comments. Great work on using the power of the public to force change.
[...] to many online Moroccan sources the popular video sharing website YouTube is once again accessible from Morocco. Moroccan [...]
Why does Maroc Telecom , a branch of a multinational corporate block
websites in Morocco?
Why Telecom does not block websites in Europe or else?
I believe the censorship is the competence of governments only and
does not include businesses.
In this case whom is to blame ? Is it Maroc Telecom or Moroccan Government ?
[...] When Morocco blocked YouTube, many bloggers joined forces in a successful campaign to unblock it. They won. When Bahrain blocked Google Earth, a lot of bloggers and journalists expressed their concerns and [...]