Google declines Turkey’s request to take down anti-government videos

The Turkish government sent requests to YouTube for the removal of specific videos that it deemed critical of government officials, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google refused to comply with the request, saying that there was no legal basis for the removal of the videos. The move by the government comes after a nationwide blackout of Twitter, which officials say is due to what they deem false allegations of corruption being circulated on the network. 

Google Inc. GOOG -1.18% has declined Turkish government requests to remove YouTube videos alleging government corruption, people familiar with the matter said, the latest sign of resistance to a crackdown against social media led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish authorities have in recent weeks asked Google to block the videos from YouTube’s Turkish website, the people familiar with the matter said. But amid a national scandal over corruption allegations, Google refused to comply because it believes the requests to be legally invalid, the people added.