YouTube under government control ?

With GooTube already committed to its own form of consumer control, it’s not much of a leap for governments to want want to avail themselves of the possibilities.

Now, UK ministers are, "backing, in principle, plans to impose controls on the YouTube website to try to end the broadcasting of indiscriminate violence," says Guardian Unlimited.

Jack Straw, the former home secretary and current leader of the Commons, raised the issue after Iain Wright, Labour MP for Hartlepool, "said he was concerned about a posting from his constituency showing a man being kicked unconscious," says the story.

Wright said was, "worried that acts of violence and instances of happy-slapping recorded on mobile phones are being transferred to the web for wider consumption," says the story, adding :

"The issue is likely to be raised when MPs debate the violent crime reduction bill next week, but it is unlikely an amendment on such a complex area of broadcasting freedom could be put together in an acceptable form over the weekend."

The story doesn’t say what GoTube (oops, YouTube) owner Google thinks about the idea.

Meanwhile what, exactly, is ’happy-slapping’ ?

It’s a, "fad in which an unsuspecting victim is attacked while an accomplice records the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone)," says Wikipedia.

"The name can refer to any type of violent assault, not just slapping, even rape and sexual assaults have been classified as ’happy slapping’. Within the UK, where the term is much more used than the U.S., it is associated with the ned/chav sub-culture."