YOUTUBE TERMINATES NORTH KOREA MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Many thousands of videos from North Korean television KCTV have been deleted.
From NK News:

Youtube terminates several North Korea-linked propaganda accounts
Removal reportedly a result of "legal complaint"

Video-sharing platform Youtube on Wednesday appeared to have shut down several accounts carrying North Korean propaganda and media.

In a move caused by a reported “legal complaint” against the accounts, channels linked to the DPRK state-run DPRK Today and Uriminzokkiri outlets were listed as terminated as of Wednesday evening Seoul time.

Another account, known as Inminchoson (People’s Korea) was also shut down, as were several channels called “Red Star” — previously known for their live streaming of the DPRK’s Korean Central Television (KCTV) broadcasts.

No further explanation for the channels’ closure has been given, with requests for comment by NK News to Google, which owns Youtube, gone unanswered as of publication.

It remains possible the terminations are connected to the DPRK media outlets’ potential links to the North Korean ruling party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD).

Chad O’Carroll, CEO and founder of NK News‘s parent organization the Korea Risk Group, said the move should, however, come as “no surprise” given broader concerns about sanctions compliance.

“Our conversations with clients in the private sector have in the last couple of years revealed significantly increasing concerns related to many North Korea-related transactions,” O’Carroll said.

“Even the mere hosting of videos from North Korea-controlled vectors is something that is likely a sanctions concern for Youtube at this time,” he continued.

“Combined, most corporations would probably recommend against hiring lawyers to investigate such channels, given the costs involved and negligible return on investment. The loser? Readers like you.”
Photo: Youtube screengrab of the DPRK Today account at 1900 KST

But it remains unclear just how closely linked many of these accounts are to the PAD, sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in September 2017, with some likely run by foreign supporters of the DPRK and not the government itself.

Several others with links to the North Korean propaganda apparatus, too, have been spared, with accounts including Koryo Media and others regularly sharing content from DPRK-linked propaganda outlet still live as of Wednesday local time.

The move will likely come as a shock to many North Korea-watchers, with the frequently-updated open-source Youtube content serving as a critical source of information on the closed-off country.

“Regardless of your political position, this is a ridiculous, counterproductive and depressing move,” Peter Ward, a writer and researcher focusing on the North Korean economy, told NK News.

“I understand that Youtube may have compliance concerns, but North Korean media should be freely accessible to all who wish to view it,” Ward — who has used open-source media available on Youtube for his research — continued.

“It’s a vital source for understanding the country, which people who care about the people of the North and the future of the Korean peninsula utilize on a daily (sometimes minute-by-minute basis).”

A similar move by Youtube in 2017 saw the company remove several major DPRK-related channels “for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines,” sparking widespread condemnation from DPRK researchers.

Source NK News - https://www.nknews.org/2019/04/youtube-terminates-several-north-korea-linked-propaganda-accounts/

And here is an article from 2017:

YouTube just closed a vital window into North Korea
by Jethro Mullen
@CNNTech September 13, 2017

YouTube has caused an outcry by shutting down North Korean propaganda channels that were used by researchers to better understand the secretive nation.

Analysts say the axed channels provided vital information that helped them follow the movements of Kim Jong Un, advances in North Korea's weapons programs and other important developments.

"Basically, this hurts efforts to track activities of interest in a closed country -- at the worst possible time," tweeted Joshua Pollack, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. have spiked this year as Kim's regime advanced its nuclear weapons program and President Trump responded with fiery rhetoric.

The shuttered YouTube channels played clips from state TV and other North Korean content.

One channel run by Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean government propaganda website, had racked up millions of views. It was "terminated due to a legal complaint," according to a short message posted by YouTube.

Videos published on Uriminzokkiri's channel have made headlines around the world, including one in 2013 that appeared to show an imagined missile attack on U.S. government buildings in Washington.

North Korea analysts have studied all kinds of footage put out by the channels, searching for clues about missiles and other military hardware. The videos also help them understand what the North Korean regime is telling its people -- and what messages it might be trying to send to foreign governments.

"These North Korean videos are ... indispensable sources of information for us on the outside," Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, wrote in an open letter Tuesday to Google (GOOGL), YouTube's parent company.

Melvin told CNNMoney that the closure of Uriminzokkiri and a second channel -- Tonpomail -- represented a "serious loss." Tonpomail was controlled by ethnic Koreans in Japan who are loyal to Pyongyang, he said.

YouTube declined to give a full explanation for taking down the accounts.

"We love that YouTube is a powerful platform for documenting events and shining light on dark corners around the world, but we must comply with the law," a spokeswoman said. "We disable accounts that repeatedly violate our community guidelines or terms of service and when we are required by law to do so."

The researchers pointed out that the channels didn't carry ads so they weren't making money for the North Korean regime, which has been hit with waves of international sanctions aiming to cut off its sources of income.

Melvin suggested YouTube's actions could be the result of a U.S. executive order targeting the property of persons identified by the Treasury Department as having links to the North Korean government.

"If Google closed the YouTube accounts under this provision, then this is a case of regulations being written so broadly that they hit and destroy assets that are actually important to the U.S. policy community," he wrote.

This isn't the first time YouTube has killed channels related to the North Korean government. It closed down a state TV account in November, which was reported to have been making money from advertising.

YouTube's actions in recent days have added to the confusion.

It initially suspended Uriminzokkiri and several other channels on Friday, saying they had violated "community guidelines." Then it reinstated them over the weekend before taking some of them down again Tuesday.

North Korean propaganda footage is still available on other YouTube channels -- and on Chinese video sites like Youku. But the loss of a major source such as Uriminzokkiri still has consequences for experts.

"Even if the proprietors of the channels find other outlets, crucial research archives are now gone," Pollack said.

Source https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/13/technology/north-korea-youtube-channels/index.html

NAMES OF SOME OF THE DELETED YOUTUBE ACCOUNTS:

channel name/user name

StimmeKoreas/stimmekoreas
North Korea Today/rodrigorojo1
Uriminzokkiri/uriminzokkiri
Tonpo Mail/tonpomail
Koryo Media/lollipopzam
DPRK Music Channel/DPRKMusicChannel
North Korea/northkoreavideos
VOK216/VOK216
DPRK Video Archive/tyrlop
KCNA Uploader/kcnauploader
Songs from the DPRK/overwatch16
Ming Kim/NorthKoreaManse
DPRK Sports/Valdas143return
Canal de EHkoKFA/EHkoKFA
DPRKmusic1/DPRKmusic1
KFA Italia/KFAitalia