Vimeo censorship notice 2017-08-23
August 24, 2017
We wrote back to vimeo
I don't really know whether to fight this or not. We have paid you to host our videos (not using a free account) for a number of years. We are just getting started at turning songs which were created some time ago into videos. At first I thought to just move to another platform but it is a pity after having used you for a number of years.
Taking your charges one by one: "Make derogatory or inflammatory statements about individuals or groups of people"
There's no easy way to put this: our songs are about Islam and especially the aspects of Islam which force themselves onto the lives of non-Muslims. All throughout our work we are extremely sensitive to the distinction between criticising all Muslims and the ideology of Islam.
Muslims are a very large group of people the vast majority of which want to just get by in life. The ideology of Islam, into which so many are born and into which some convert (in Islamic parlance "revert"), is a choice. Some (very brave) people even chose to renounce and leave Islam. They're brave because this carries the death penalty in many parts of the world where Islam reigns.
Our songs are meticulously researched and backed with scholarly work. (into which Vimeo is nicely embedded). Our song "Philosophy" - an extract of which we just published and may be the cause of your legal challenge is a good example.
The second charge "Are intended to harm someone’s reputation" I can't see where that might apply, we're not really talking about individuals.
The third charge "Have an overall mean-spirited vibe" is a lot harder to discuss. Are we allowed to present upsetting truths or is Vimeo just a happy place for amusing cat videos and other "safe" content?
I need to know whether Vimeo is pro free-speech about Islam or seeks to cover up and hide from the truth about why many Muslims decide at some point to take up arms (or cars or vans) and murder non-Muslims across the west. Or even murder other Muslims around them who aren't the right kind of Muslims.
If you don't want our careful, balanced and ultimately TRUE content on your site, we will take our business elsewhere and consider Vimeo to be another site without the strength of courage to defend the civilisation which raised us all up and gave so much to improve the human condition of everyone in our world.
We're just starting to attract attention (as evidenced by the fact that after a number of years you've noticed us). This will grow and grow. There are other alternatives out there and it would be good for us to find out now so we can move to other sites and make sure your antipathy to free truthful speech is noted by others who might mistake you for a viable service to use.
August 23, 2017
WMDRock - Weapon of Musical Defense received the following notice from Vimeo, the video service we've been using for a while now to host our videos:
It would appear our videos have been noticed. What is a good free-speech alternative to @Vimeo ? /1 pic.twitter.com/y3hKVnxSan
— WMD Rock (@WMDRock) August 23, 2017
Hello
A Vimeo moderator marked your account for review for the following reason:
Vimeo does not allow videos that: * Make derogatory or inflammatory statements about individuals or groups of people * Are intended to harm someone’s reputation * Have an overall mean-spirited vibe
You need to take the following action as soon as possible:
Please remove any videos that violate Vimeo's Terms of Service (https://vimeo.com/terms)
After 2 weeks, we will review your account again to make sure this action has been taken. If not, your videos and/or your account may be removed by a Vimeo moderator.
For more information on our content and community policies, please visit https://vimeo.com/help/guidelines If you have questions or believe you received this warning in error, please respond to this message and a Vimeo Community Manager will get back to you.
Sincerely, Vimeo
We replied and we may make that reply public in the future.