When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Germany

Why Is YouTube Blocking Gangnam Style And Justin Bieber In Germany?

SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BERLIN – When Germany talks about social networks, it is usually talking about Facebook and Twitter, not about YouTube.

And yet the video platform, with its 800 million daily users, is certainly in the Facebook league and is used by many more people than Twitter. The fact that YouTube has become the biggest pop-cultural archive in human history doesn’t come through in Germany.

The reason is the on-going conflict between YouTube’s mother company Google and the German copyright protection association GEMA, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.

The practical result is that 61.5% of the 1,000 most popular YouTube videos are blocked. Compare that to 0.9% in the United States and a little over 1% in Germany’s neighboring countries Austria and Switzerland. In terms of YouTube, Germany is a developing country – even the Vatican and South Sudan offer a greater variety of top hits than Germany!

[rebelmouse-image 27086198 alt="""" original_size="639x379" expand=1]

Screenshot YouTube

Blocked videos on a long list include the original version of Gangnam Style – with 1.2 billion views the most popular Internet video ever – and virtually all videos by teenage idol Justin Bieber.

YouTube hits in Germany consist, for example, of a video of a baby who bites (Charlie Bit My Finger – Again!) and The Gummy Bear Song. That is presumably the reason why Germans fail to recognize YouTube for what it has long been seen as elsewhere: the world’s most important social video network.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

A First Look At Russia's Ukraine War Veterans, Struggling Back On The Homefront

Hundreds of thousands of Russians have taken part in the war. On returning, many face difficulties to return to normal life and finding work, as independent Russian news outlet Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories reports.

Image of a Man waiting in line at Military Employment Office of the Russian Armed Forces​

Man waiting in line at an employment office in Moscow

РЕДАКЦИЯ

MOSCOW — Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians have taken part in the war. They range from professional soldiers, National Guardsmen, reservists and conscripts to mercenaries of illegal armed groups, including former prisoners.

The exact number of those who survived and returned home is unknown. In the past year alone, about 50,000 citizens received the status “combat veteran”. The actual number of returnees from the front is far higher, but it is often extremely difficult to obtain veteran status and veteran benefits.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest