YouTube Responds to Saudi Request to Remove Offensive Ads

09 June 2022, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rottweil: The logo of the American company YouTube can be seen on the screen of a computer. (dpa)
09 June 2022, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rottweil: The logo of the American company YouTube can be seen on the screen of a computer. (dpa)
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YouTube Responds to Saudi Request to Remove Offensive Ads

09 June 2022, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rottweil: The logo of the American company YouTube can be seen on the screen of a computer. (dpa)
09 June 2022, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rottweil: The logo of the American company YouTube can be seen on the screen of a computer. (dpa)

YouTube responded on Monday to an urgent Saudi request to remove ads that violate Islamic values and principles.

A spokesman for the platform in the Middle East confirmed that the offensive ads that had appeared on the service were removed.

“Protecting society is one of the platform’s top priorities in Saudi Arabia and around the world,” the spokesperson said.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) released a statement demanding the platform remove the offensive advertisements.

They noted that YouTube showed advertisements directed at users in the Kingdom that included broadcasting content that conflicts with “Islamic and societal values and principles and are in violation of the media content controls in the Kingdom and the policy of the YouTube platform.”

“In the event that the violating content continues to be broadcast, the necessary legal measures will be taken in accordance with the two communications and audio-visual regulations.”

The Google-owned company was quick to remove the offensive content.



Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Microsoft pledged Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data center operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company's president, Brad Smith, said it's not something that officials are talking about in Washington, D.C. but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft's customers across Europe, which include governments.

President Donald Trump has stoked tensions between the US and Europe with his tariff-fueled trade war, and alarmed European leaders with policy changes, including pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that throw into doubt his administration's commitment to the trans-Atlantic relationship, The AP news reported.

Smith, speaking at an event in Brussels, tried to allay concerns as he announced that the company was expanding data center operations across Europe.

“What we want Europeans to know is that they can count on us,” he said in a speech.

“In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court,” Smith wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

He noted that Microsoft has experience fighting lawsuits from the previous Trump administration as well as from former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“If we ever find ourselves losing we will put in place business continuity arrangements” that include storing computer code in Switzerland that European partners can access, he said.

Microsoft is making five digital commitments to Europe, including increasing its data center capacity by 40 in 16 countries over the next two years, Smith said. The expansion will cost tens of billions of dollars annually. Smith declined to be more specific about the cost when asked by reporters.

The expansion comes amid calls for Europe to assert tech and data sovereignty by weaning itself off reliance from big US cloud data service providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Google.

“Given recent geopolitical volatility, we recognize that European governments likely will consider additional options,” and Microsoft is committed to collaborating with European companies, Smith said.