YouTube Blocks Channel Of U.S. News Group After Complaints From Turkmen State Media, 13 October 2021

YouTube has blocked a channel belonging to a U.S. news organization known for its coverage of Central Asia, Caucasus, and Russia, after state media in authoritarian Turkmenistan complained about copyright violations.

The site, Eurasianet, said it was notified by Google-owned YouTube that its channel was being blocked after receiving several "takedown notices" over several days this week.

The notices, YouTube said, were filed by Watan Habarlary, the official TV channel belonging to Turkmenistan's State Committee on Television, Radio Broadcasting, and Cinematography.

David Trilling, managing editor for Eurasianet, said the site had struggled to find someone at YouTube to appeal the decision. He said that Eurasianet's website, which publishes mainly in English and Russian, is itself blocked in Turkmenistan, as is YouTube...

One of the most closed countries in the world, Turkmenistan is run by an authoritarian government that controls all media and strictly limits Internet access and outside media...