Follow us on:   

YouTube files lawsuit over ‘vein cutting’ video
February 13, 2013, 2:14 pm

[Getty Images]

[Getty Images]

Video-sharing website YouTube has filed a lawsuit against Russia’s consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor over a controversial video.

The agency asked YouTube to restrict access to a video it deemed as an “instruction to suicide”.

YouTube, the video-sharing unit of Google Inc furiously disagrees that a video entitled, “Video lesson on how to cut your veins =D” posing as a Halloween makeup tutorial is in any way “inciting suicide”.

In an emailed statement, Google said, “In this case, we have appealed the decision of Russian consumer watchdog because we do not believe that the goal of the law was to limit access to videos that are clearly intended to entertain viewers.”

The web-search giant added that it restricts content on country-specific domains where a nation’s laws require it.

As of November 1, 2012 a Russian law protecting children from harmful internet content took effect.

The law allows for the creation of a register of blacklisted websites and allows the government to take them offline.

Under the law, authorities can, without a court order, block access to sites containing child pornography, drug-related material and “suicide-content videos”.

The law aims to protect minors from websites with offending content – sexual abuse of children, details about how to commit suicide, propaganda of drugs and sites that solicit children for pornography.

Russian Citizens are encouraged to submit screenshots and URLs of offending sites.

Overall, 22 videos on YouTube have been blocked since the law was introduced.

Daria Chernyshova