A protester reacts as the US Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames
A group of Syrian-Americans gathered for an emergency vigil at the Libyan Mission to the United Nations in New York City on Thursday for U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, who lost his life in a violent attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday.
Google Friday refused to comply with a White House request to reconsider keeping an anti-Islam on YouTube, Reuters reported.
The White House Friday requested Google to "review" the video trailer of the movie, "Innocence of Muslims," that has triggered violent protests against the U.S. missions worldwide.
"The White House asked YouTube to review the video to see if it was in compliance with their terms of use," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in an email to Politico.
White House officials emphasize that their inquiry was not a removal request, simply a review. "We cannot and will not squelch freedom of expression in this country," Carney told reporters Friday.
The U.S. had asked the search engine giant to reassess the video link on the basis of YouTube's terms of service against "hate speech." But Google said the controversial clip would remain online as it was "well within the guidelines" of YouTube, which it owns.
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The company Friday blocked the access to the video in India, Indonesia and in some Middle East countries because the local laws make it illegal in these countries. Earlier, Google voluntarily had blocked the video URL in Egypt and Libya, considering the delicate and inflammable situation in these counties.
"We've restricted access to it in countries where it is illegal such as India and Indonesia, as well as in Libya and Egypt, given the very sensitive situations in these two countries," the company said, according to a Reuters report. "This approach is entirely consistent with principles we first laid out in 2007."
But the remains available tor Internet users in the rest of the world.
The video uploaded on YouTube July 2 depicts Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and philanderer. It reportedly was made by a Coptic Christian living in Southern California.
The U.S. embassies in Libya, Egypt and Yemen were stormed by violent mobs protesting against the movie. On Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in the protest attack on the consulate in Benghazi.
The protest against the movie had spread to several other countries by Friday and the U.S. diplomatic missions aboard beefed up security.
