Win for Mutua as YouTube flags ‘gay’ Kenyan video
YouTube has finally acted and marked as inappropriate a song that the Kenya films board said was immoral and promoted gay values.
Kenya Film Classification Board Chief Executive Ezekiel Mutua had said that music video titled Same Love (by Art Attack) had graphic sexual scenes between people of the same gender as well as depiction of nudity and pornography.
The films board argued that since homosexuality was illegal in Kenya, the music video must be banned.
Mr Mutua said that YouTube on Monday night flagged down the music video as inappropriate, according to the board’s request.
“The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised,” YouTube said in a message on its website after an attempt to open the video.
The video, however, plays after the message has been displayed.
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“After being taken round, YouTube has acted on our request and has flagged down the song as inappropriate,” said Mr Mutua during the World Press Freedom Day Celebrations at a Nairobi hotel.
Mr Mutua said that although there were challenges in control of media content, significant progress is being made.
“Even Coca-Cola edited their advert after we said it was not good without going to court, and that is a good thing,” he said.
The film board had banned the Coca-Cola advert after it said that it had kissing scenes that were not appropriate for the times that the advertisement is aired.
In its letter to Google before it was transferred to YouTube, the films board said the creators and distributors of the content must be held accountable.
“Kenya must not allow its people to become the Sodom and Gomorrah of the current age through psychological drive from such content,” Mr Mutua told a press conference after writing the letter.
