Coinspeaker
YouTube Blocks Cointelegraph’s Bitcoin Halving Livestream

YouTube yesterday canceled Cointelegraph’s Bitcoin halving live stream. This occurred as the cryptocurrency news outlet was already over six hours and forty-two minutes into the event. Sources say that YouTube blocked the stream and cut off over 2000 subscribers. YouTube had allegedly blocked the content because it was labeled as “harmful” content by the video provider.

Cointelegraph had planned the whole day with relevant content. Personalities in the fintech world such as Tim Draper, Roger Ver, Meltem Demirors had come onstream to talk to the editorial staff.

This isn’t the first time that YouTube has gone after Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related content. The world’s largest video site is known to heavily censor cryptocurrency-related content. Many content creators have moved to other platforms that allow them to operate.

It also brings into focus Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) anti-cryptocurrency stance. Since the 2017 ICO bubble, Alphabet’s Google is known to have banned cryptocurrency ads. The bans have been on and off depending on the year in which the ban took place.

Many in the crypto space have wondered if Google and YouTube’s actions were effective censorship or attempt to blacklist cryptocurrency activities.

Many cryptocurrency content creators have avoided using the Alphabet’s services due to these kinds of activities.

The situation has also spurred the acceptance of crypto-related content on competing platforms. Platforms such as LBRY are gaining prominence. Privacy and censorship concerns have forced content creators to move to other platforms.

Cointelegraph had indicated that it had appealed the decision to cut off its live stream. It was waiting for a decision at the time of filing this report.

Attempts by YouTube to censor cryptocurrency-related content first started in the first quarter of 2018. Crypto-winter had just set in. Cryptocurrency prices struggled that year. YouTube actively continued to block and remove cryptocurrency-related content.

At the time, many had hoped that YouTube’s parent company Alphabet will allow free speech to prevail. In late 2019, there was a massive purge of cryptocurrency-related content.

Many content creators had to move to other platforms to avoid a repeat situation.

The common thinking of many within the legacy IT space is that decentralized technology has no base beyond social media. Hence the various attempts to censor and regulate content provision.

Such an approach is reminiscent of pen and paper vs. the internet which was in its infancy then.

The underlying consensus is that the cryptocurrency and decentralized space will die a natural death. That is if such censorship is effective. Nothing could be further from the truth. The great thing about innovation is that it springs up in the least-unexpected ways.

Greater actions of censorship against cryptocurrency-related activities will lead to the emergence of new platforms.

The companies in Alphabet’s cachet are also children of innovation. If the innovation cycles and other models hold, the decentralized space might be the beginning of another phase. According to Victor Hugo, “armies cannot stop an idea whose time has come. No army can stop an idea whose time has come. Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come”.

YouTube Blocks Cointelegraph’s Bitcoin Halving Livestream

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