March 31, 2008 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Video web hosting site LiveLeak (http://www.liveleak.com) has pulled the plug on an Anti-Koran documentary film created by controversial Dutch MP Geert Wilders, it was reported recently. The documentary considers the relationship between the Koran and Islam, which the documentary describes as being "the enemy of freedom". According to LiveLeak, the film, called Fitna, received more than 3 million visitors prior to its removal from its servers, and its presence generated both complaints and threats.
After the 17-minute film’s removal, visitors to LiveLeak were greeted by a message suggesting that they had received threats to their staff and had no choice but to remove Fitna from their servers. The message went on to suggest, “We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high”. The message also suggested that they had received the support of “thousands of people from all backgrounds and religions.”
LiveLeak’s move highlight’s the ability of web hosts to pull content from their servers at will – a situation some see as censorship. Prior to its release, Fitna had previously been removed from Network Solutions’ hosting service for breaching the company’s “terms of acceptable use” policies. In addition, web host GoDaddy recently removed the website RateMyCop.com from its servers without giving prior warning or, according to the site’s owners, an explanation as to why the site was being removed.
