"Al Jazeera has condemned YouTube's compliance with an Israeli law banning the network's livestreams in the country, warning that the move signals how major tech companies can be co-opted as instruments of regimes hostile to freedom. YouTube's submission to Israel's ban became apparent on Wednesday, days after Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karahi ordered a 90-day extension of an existing ban on the network's operations in Israel, blocking broadcasting and internet companies from carrying the network's content."
"On Thursday, with livestreams of Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Mubasher blocked in Israel, the network denounced YouTube for failing to uphold the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Such principles mandate that global tech companies ensure freedom of expression and resist government pressures that lead to the withholding of the truth and the silencing of independent journalism, it said in a statement."
"The Network stresses that this escalation is part of a broader and systematic pattern of Israeli violations, including the killing and detention of its journalists and the closure of its offices in the occupied territories, aimed at suppressing the truth. Israel has killed more than 270 journalists and media workers since it launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023."
YouTube complied with an Israeli law banning Al Jazeera livestreams, resulting in blocked feeds for Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Mubasher in Israel. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karahi ordered a 90-day extension of an existing ban that prevents broadcasting and internet companies from carrying the network's content. Al Jazeera denounced YouTube for not upholding the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and argued that tech companies must resist government pressures that silence independent journalism. The network called the action part of a wider pattern of Israeli violations, citing killings, detentions and office closures; Israel has killed more than 270 journalists and media workers since October 2023. In May 2024, the cabinet voted to shut down Al Jazeera's operations after parliament passed a law allowing temporary closure of foreign broadcasters deemed a national security threat.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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