Censorship of YouTube Around the World

YouTube censorship is a hot topic, and it's not just limited to one country. In China, YouTube is blocked entirely, citing the country's strict internet regulations and the need to maintain social stability.

The Chinese government has a history of censoring online content, and YouTube is just one of many platforms that have fallen under their scrutiny. In fact, the country's "Great Firewall" has been blocking YouTube since 2009.

YouTube has been banned in several other countries, including North Korea, Syria, and Turkmenistan. In these countries, access to the platform is severely restricted, and users who try to access it may face severe consequences.

The censorship of YouTube is a complex issue, with various reasons and motivations behind it. But one thing is clear: the platform's content is being heavily restricted in many parts of the world.

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Countries blocking YouTube have varied in their reasons and methods. China has been blocking YouTube since 2009, but users can still access it from Hong Kong and Macau.

Some countries have blocked YouTube due to specific videos. In Iran, a video about an Iranian soap opera star having sex led to a temporary ban in 2006, which was later reinstated in 2012 after the release of the film Innocence of Muslims.

In North Korea, YouTube is blocked due to the country's laws regarding the internet and its accessibility. Civilians are instead forced to use the North Korean Intranet, with the exception of a few government officials.

Here are some countries that have blocked YouTube at some point:

China has blocked YouTube twice, first in 2007 and then again in 2009, and it has remained inaccessible from mainland China ever since.

The block is primarily due to political reasons, as the Chinese government has been critical of content on the platform. YouTube can still be accessed from Hong Kong and Macau, which are Special Administrative Regions with different internet regulations.

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China's Great Firewall has been effective in blocking YouTube, but many Chinese media outlets have official YouTube accounts, including China Central Television (CCTV), Xinhua News Agency, and China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Instead of YouTube, alternatives like Baidu's iQIYI and Alibaba's Youku have been created to serve the Mainland Chinese market.

In 2018, searching for "YouTube" on Baidu displays a message indicating that some results cannot be shown due to local regulations and policies.

YouTube is ranked as the 5th-most-visited website in China, despite being blocked, according to Alexa.

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Countries blocking YouTube often use a more subtle approach than a complete ban. This is known as Level 1 filtering.

In some cases, governments filter YouTube to limit public exposure to content that may ignite social or political unrest. This can include videos that contain negative messages about the ruling class, such as in Thailand where authorities routinely block videos that contain negative messages about the Thai king.

Other governments block specific videos when the content of a video violates national law. For example, in Germany, England, and the United States, authorities have temporarily blocked or removed videos from YouTube due to copyright infringement charges.

Some governments also require YouTube to remove videos that defame public figures, such as in Mexico where the Federal Electoral Institute ordered YouTube to remove a video defaming incumbent senatorial candidate Fidel Herrera during his re-election campaign.

In Egypt, authorities required YouTube to block videos and account access for pro-democracy activist Wael Abbas in 2007, although his account access has since been restored.

In South Korea, any site with over 100,000 visitors per month must collect the name and national ID number of each visitor, which was the case for YouTube. This was seen as an invasion of privacy, and users' abilities to contribute content or comments were consequently disabled.

Here are some examples of Level 1 filtering:

In the United States, YouTube faced a significant issue in 2024 when several artists' songs became unplayable due to a legal dispute with SESAC.

YouTube announced that they had reached a deal with SESAC to unblock the affected videos on September 30, 2024.

The dispute affected various artists, with some having only certain songs blocked, while others had their entire videos pulled from the platform.

Some artists not represented by SESAC, like Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj, saw their videos removed due to collaborations with SESAC-represented songwriters or musicians.

The situation highlights the complexity of music licensing and the impact of disputes on online content availability.

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YouTube is blocked in North Korea due to the country's laws regarding the Internet and its accessibility. The North Korean government has warned that anyone who tries to access it is subject to punishment.

Bangladesh has blocked YouTube multiple times, including in March 2009, September 2012, and August 2024, due to various reasons such as a recording of an alleged meeting between the prime minister and army officers and quota reform protests.

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Tajikistan has blocked YouTube numerous times, including in July 2012, 2013, and 2015, due to videos showing protests against militant clashes, President Emomali Rakhmon being depicted in a negative light, and a video of the president dancing and singing out of tune.

Nepal's telecommunications agency ordered to block YouTube and other social media platforms on September 5, 2025, due to their failure to register with the government.

YouTube is blocked in Thailand for users with Thai IP addresses, and has been blocked multiple times due to various reasons such as a video of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's speech on CNN and a video insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Tunisia blocked YouTube for several years before the 2011 Tunisian Revolution.

Uzbekistan heavily censored YouTube access on October 9, 2018, but the reason for the censorship is unknown.

Some examples of countries that have restricted YouTube access include:

Bangladesh has a history of blocking YouTube, with the first instance occurring in March 2009 due to a recording of an alleged meeting between the prime minister and army officers. The block was lifted on March 21.

In 2012, YouTube was banned again in Bangladesh following controversies surrounding the promotional videos for Innocence of Muslims. The ban was lifted on June 5, 2013.

More recently, on August 2, 2024, YouTube, along with WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok, was blocked in Bangladesh due to quota reform protests.

Thailand has also blocked YouTube multiple times, with the first instance occurring in 2006 when authorities identified 20 offensive videos and demanded that Google remove them before unblocking all YouTube content. YouTube was blocked again in March 2007, and then again in April 2007 due to a video deemed insulting to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Tajikistan has blocked YouTube on several occasions, including in July 2012 in response to uploaded videos showing protests against militant clashes. The site was blocked again in 2013 due to a video depicting President Rakhmon dancing and singing out of tune at his son's wedding party.

Here's a list of some of the countries that have restricted YouTube access:

Finland has had issues with restricted YouTube access in the past. On November 30, 2017, most YouTube videos containing music were blocked by Teosto, a Finnish nonprofit performance rights organization.

The reason for the block was reportedly due to a lack of agreement between Google and Teosto to show music videos in Finland.

Teosto claimed that Google had blocked the videos, but a temporary agreement was made to show the videos later that day.

In the United Kingdom, Google started enforcing "age assurance" policies for selected users in the US as a trial in 2025. The Online Safety Act 2023 was the catalyst for this change.

Google will use machine learning to determine a user's age, regardless of their account information. This technology will restrict access to certain content and features across all Google properties if the user is assumed to be under 18.

On YouTube, age verification will be based on factors such as searches and video history, as well as the age of the account. If a user is detected to be a minor, they must go through age verification via payment, scanned ID, or selfie to access all features.

This age verification process will disable personalized advertising and enable certain digital wellbeing limits for users under 18.

Consider reading: Turn off Age Restriction on Youtube App

The ONI uses a simple yet effective system to track YouTube censorship, dividing each year into quarterly periods. Each period is colored based on whether a government imposed filtering on YouTube.

A country is labeled light blue (Level 1) if specific videos were blocked nationwide, or if YouTube was blocked by some but not all ISPs. This indicates a more limited form of censorship.

The entire site is blocked nationwide when a country is labeled dark blue (Level 2). This is a more severe form of censorship, where access to the entire site is restricted.

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To understand how YouTube censorship is tracked, let's look at the methodology used by ONI. ONI draws on media reports and their own research to create a rough history of YouTube censorship since 2006.

Each year is divided into quarterly periods, with a country turning either light or dark blue if a government imposes some level of filtering on YouTube. This color coding system remains the same throughout the period, regardless of the number of days or weeks that filtering occurs.

Level 1, denoted by light blue, indicates periods where specific videos are blocked either nationwide or by some but not all ISPs. Level 2, marked by dark blue, shows periods where the entire site is blocked nationwide.

YouTube uses a combination of human moderators and algorithms to enforce its community guidelines, with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 human moderators.

These human moderators are responsible for reviewing flagged content and making decisions about what should be removed or left up.

YouTube's algorithm is designed to identify and remove content that violates the platform's community guidelines, but it's not perfect and can sometimes make mistakes.

The algorithm uses a system of flags and penalties to determine the severity of a violation, with repeat offenders facing more severe penalties.

YouTube's community guidelines are enforced by a combination of human moderators and algorithms, with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 human moderators making decisions about what content to remove or leave up.

YouTube's algorithm is trained on a dataset of millions of videos and is designed to identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a violation of the community guidelines.

The algorithm is also designed to adapt to new trends and behaviors, with YouTube's moderation team constantly updating and refining the algorithm to improve its accuracy.

YouTube's community guidelines are designed to be broad and inclusive, covering everything from hate speech and harassment to explicit content and violent behavior.

The guidelines are also subject to change, with YouTube regularly updating and refining its policies to reflect changing community standards and laws.

On a similar theme: Youtube Reused Content Policy 2024

YouTube is blocked in certain countries, and this can be frustrating for users who want to access its content.

The YouTube live stream of the press conference of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez on April 15, 2019, was disrupted for CANTV users.

This disruption is a clear example of how YouTube can be restricted in some countries.

CANTV users were unable to access the live stream, which is a significant limitation for those who rely on the platform for news and information.

In this case, the restriction was specifically related to a live stream, but it highlights the broader issue of YouTube censorship.