David Gross Discusses YouTube and Free Speech After U.S. Embassy Attack

Ambassador David A. Gross, chair of Wiley Rein’s International Telecommunications Group, was interviewed by NPR’s Marketplace after religious extremists stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other diplomats.  It has been reported than an anti-Islamic video posted to YouTube sparked the violence.

NPR reported that Amb. Gross “used to coordinate international communications policy for the U.S.”  In answer to a question about how Internet companies operate, Gross said that “Generally, because the volume is so great, they cannot monitor this on a real-time basis, so they wait until people either complain or corporations complain or groups complain about it, then they look to see if it has violated their terms and conditions, and then they take it down.”

Amb. Gross also said that the U.S. government should respond in part by standing up for free speech: “We should not be unduly influenced by the mob actions of others.”

To listen to the interview, click here.