Judge Rejects Request by Actress That YouTube Remove Anti-Muslim Video

A state superior court judge refused to force YouTube to remove a 14-minute video that has incited deadly violence in the Muslim world, rejecting a request by an actress who claims she was tricked into participating in the film.

Cindy Lee Garcia of Bakersfield (CA) filed a lawsuit, claiming fraud and slander, against Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the producer of “Innocence of Muslims,” an anti-Muslim video that last week prompted protests and killings at United States Embassies in the Middle East. The suit, citing death threats to Garcia, sought an injunction against YouTube’s continued distribution of the video, which parodies the Prophet Muhammad. Judge Luis A. Lavin of Los Angeles County Superior Court declined to take action against YouTube, citing technical grounds and a federal law that protects third parties from liability for content they disperse. YouTube blocked the video in a handful of countries on its own volition after the violence broke out but has declined to remove it altogether after determining that its content — while incendiary — does not violate the company’s terms of service regarding hate speech.