YouTube videos are used by terrorists to spread propaganda, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said in a letter sent to Google on Monday, and therefore they should be removed. In his letter, he argued that the videos, which are branded with Al-Qaeda logos and depict assassinations, deaths of U.S. soldiers and civilians, as well as weapon training and speeches encouraging violence, are a tool used by terrorist groups to enlist followers and provide weapons training.

Furthermore, Lieberman said that YouTube, by hosting these videos, unwittingly allows terrorist organizations to “maintain an active, pervasive, and amplified voice.” In order to protect citizens from terrorist attacks, we need to take action, the senator believes, and Google should contribute to this national effort by stopping the disseminating of terrorists' goals and methods.

A spokesperson for YouTube however said that while hundreds of videos as uploaded daily on the website, it is impossible to pre-screen all of them. All in all, it depends on the users to decide what videos should be removed, by flagging them as inappropriate (it is then that the video will be submitted to a review).

Lieberman is decided to eradicate any terrorist content that might affect or influence Internet viewers by proposing the development of a communications plan to interfere with terrorist messages, which could create “homegrown terrorists,” the Associated Press reports. Lieberman is the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

So far, according to Google, over 80 videos have been removed from YouTube after violating content regulations, after the senator brought the matter into discussion last week. Unfortunately, YouTube’s content is hard to control, and the website relies on users to choose what it’s inappropriate to watch. After all, it’s a matter of choice, if you see an Al-Qaeda video, don’t click on it! Before others can make the content safe, we should take action too.