We chose to research YouTube as one of today's instant media streaming sources. On the company website there is a "Policies and Safety" page giving us an idea of how they may censor users from accessing certain content. There is a minimum age requirement of 13 in order to create a YouTube account. Certain videos with "mature" or "inappropriate" content can only be viewed if the user logs in to the website with their account to prove their age. This is one of the few ways to prevent young Americans from viewing videos that we see as inappropriate. Is this something that should remain in existence or is it a parent's responsibility to monitor what their children are viewing?
Other countries in recent history have acted differently than the United States. On a larger scale we can see that YouTube altogether or specific videos were blocked at certain time periods according to the map on this site. http://opennet.net/youtube-censored-a-recent-history
In Turkey for example, YouTube was blocked due to videos that were insulting Mustafa Ataturk and "Turkishness" and has been permanently banned since January 2009. Similar instances have occured in Pakistan, China, and Tunisia.
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