Google buckles and complies with Kenya’s Film Board request, flags gay video as “unnecessarily offensive to some”

Google has heeded calls by Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) to put a warning note on the controversial ‘Same Love’ video posted on YouTube.

The music video was produced by a Kenyan band called Art Attack, and the video/song is described by its producers as, “A Kenyan song about same sex rights, gay rights, LGBT struggles”.

‘Same Love’ video screenshot

The video has caused a furore in Kenya, which is largely a culturally and religiously conservative society, and the issue of gay rights (LGBT) remains a controversial topic in the country. Some of the country’s nationally defined beliefs and values are embedded in traditional cultures and religious beliefs.

The KFCB initially requested Google to take down the video from YouTube arguing the video contravenes Kenya’s “national moral values”. According to the board’s Chief Executive, Ezekiel Mutua, “Google (Kenya) revealed that the Kenyan office did not have capacity to pull down the content from YouTube… [after which], the Board lodged its complaint to the Google headquarters California”.

In a statement, Mutua commended Google for, “putting a disclaimer on the YouTube video, warning viewers that its content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially inappropriate, advising viewer discretion.”

Read: WATCH: Kenyan authorities ask Google to take down gay song

The disclaimer reads: “WARNING: This video contains imagery and a message that may be unnecessarily offensive to some.”

Read: The Coca-Cola video censored by Kenyan regulator for violating “family values”

Mutua has since issued a strong warning “to bring down such inappropriate content,” and wrote that the Board will “not hesitate to take legal action against creators and distributors of film and broadcast content who contravene our classification guidelines”.

While many users on social media support KFCB’s campaigns to censor content which contravenes the country’s “moral values”, there are some who strongly believe the board should focus on “more important issues” to improve the country’s film industry.

Source: KFCB/Facebook