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Egypt blocks YouTube for one month for hosting anti-Islam movie that sparked riots

Egypt blocks YouTube for one month for hosting anti-Islam movie that sparked riots

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YouTube Copyright Trademark (STOCK)
YouTube Copyright Trademark (STOCK)

An Egyptian court has ordered that YouTube be blocked in the country for one month for hosting an anti-muslim video titled Innocence of Muslims. The movie portrayed the prophet Mohammed as a religious fraud and pedophile, and as news of the 14-minute clip spread, riots and violence around the world resulted in the death of more than 50 people.

YouTube stepped in last September and blocked access to the video in both Egypt and Libya, but in December a new Egyptian constitution came into force, granting greater powers to authorities to stifle "anti-religious" sentiments. Today, these powers were used to posthumously punish YouTube for hosting the video in the first place. YouTube has yet to publicly comment on the ruling, but we've reached out and will update this article once we receive a statement.