--- title: Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence description: Sites including Facebook and Youtube appear to be censored as the country spirals into chaos canonical: https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-13T18:33:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:02:31.819Z article:section: World og:title: Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence og:description: Sites including Facebook and Youtube appear to be censored as the country spirals into chaos og:url: https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence twitter:description: Sites including Facebook and Youtube appear to be censored as the country spirals into chaos twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Jun 13, 2014 6:33 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Jun 13, 2014 6:33 PM CUT Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms are largely inaccessible in Iraq Friday as the country is being threatened by a Sunni insurgency advancing on the capital. “We are disturbed by reports of access issues in Iraq and are investigating. Limiting access to Internet services — essential for communication and commerce for millions of people — is a matter of concern for the global community,” a spokesperson for Facebook told TIME. YouTube also confirmed that the company is receiving reports that “some users” in Iraq are unable to access the site. “There is no technical issue on our side and we’re looking into the situation,” a spokesperson said. “Users in Iraq are reporting issues accessing our service, Twitter [said](https://twitter.com/policy/status/477568337132548096 "undefined"). “We’re investigating their reports and we hope service will be restored quickly.” Citing an anonymous source purportedly inside Iraq’s Ministry of Communications, the [Kuwait News Agency ](http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2382442&Language=en "undefined")(KUNA) also reported that social networking sites, as well as “a number of pornographic websites,” have been blocked in Iraq. “The source did not reveal the motive for blocking these sites at the moment,” KUNA reports, “although some see it as part of government measure to prevent militants of [Islamic State of Iraq and Levant ](Social%20Media is Blocked in Iraq Sites including Facebook and Youtube appear to be censored as the country spirals into chaos Social media websites in Iraq appear to have been blocked by the government in Baghdad as the fragile country threatens to buckle under pressure from a Sunni insurgency advancing on the capital. “We are disturbed by reports of access issues in Iraq and are investigating. Limiting access to Internet services — essential for communication and commerce for millions of people — is a matter of concern for the global community,” a spokesperson for Facebook told TIME. YouTube also confirmed that the company is receiving reports that “some users” in Iraq are unable to access the site. “There is no technical issue on our side and we’re looking into the situation,” a spokesperson said. Mashable reports that the Lebanon-based website Cyber Arabs, which monitors web freedom in the region, confirmed that Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are blocked in Iraq. Citing an anonymous source purportedly inside Iraq’s Ministry of Communications, the Kuwait News Agency %28KUNA%29 also reported that social networking sites, as well as “a number of pornographic websites,” have been blocked in Iraq. “The source did not reveal the motive for blocking these sites at the moment,” KUNA reports, “although some see it as part of government measure to prevent militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant %28ISIL%29 from using media outlets. ISIL militants have released videos and pictures through websites to promote their actions in central and north of Iraq.” "undefined")(ISIL) from using media outlets. ISIL militants have released videos and pictures through websites to promote their actions in central and north of Iraq.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/"},"headline":"Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence","datePublished":"2014-06-13T18:33:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:31.819Z","description":"Sites including Facebook and Youtube appear to be censored as the country appears to be spiraling into chaos","url":"https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/","keywords":["Iraq","Tech","Social Media","Internet","Google","facebook","twitter","ISIS","YouTube","Baghdad","Censorship","ISIL"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iraq/","name":"Iraq"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2871721/facebook-youtube-iraq-blocked/","name":"Facebook, YouTube Blocked in Iraq Amid Increasing Violence"}}]}] ```