Did Morocco cut off YouTube?

Filed in archive Internet TV on May 29, 2007

Bloggers in morocco discovered last Friday that they no longer had access to YouTube. A spokesman for the state-controlled telecom provider (Maroc Telecom) blamed the problem on a technical glitch. Apparently that glitch remains in effect still.

But bloggers are skeptical. Can you imagine that?

They think that the government has "clearly blocked YouTube" and seem worried that media freedoms are eroding. If freedoms are eroding, they don't have far to fall.

Over the past month Morocco has cracked down on students and activists from Western Sahara. These are the same people who have initiated pro-independence demonstrations and have used YouTube to post dozens of videos of these clashes. The most popular only draws 2500 views but purports to show police violence against Saharawi women.