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Apr 28, 2010

M.I.A.'s 'Born Free' Video Pulled From YouTube


On Tuesday, YouTube yanked the so-called "real and explicit version" of "Born Free" from its pages, claiming the clip violated rules that "prohibit content like pornography or gratuitous violence."

A spokesperson for the site told the BBC that, while YouTube does not comment on individual videos, its policy is "to age-restrict content that has been flagged by the community and identified by our policy enforcement team as content that, while not violating our community guidelines, is not suitable for users under age 18."

Originally, the "Born Free" video was tagged as containing "content that is inappropriate for some users" and required users to verify they were over the age of 18 before they were allowed to watch the clip (something M.I.A. herself pointed out on her Twitter account). The official version has since disappeared from the site entirely and is not available in the YouTube channels for either M.I.A.'s U.S. label, Interscope Records, or her U.K. home, XL Recordings. A quick search of the site reveals that the video is still readily available for viewing on other YouTubers' pages.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.