Good Morning Silicon Valley

Undeterred by its adventures in the U.S. legal system and Thailand’s king-worshipping culture, Google’s YouTube has launched targeted international versions that will bring translated and locally customized versions of the video site to viewers in nine countries with nine sets of laws and mores. The lucky nine are Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the U.K. Co-founder Chad Hurley said more than half of YouTube’s viewers were from outside the U.S., and the move was intended to give parts of that audience a more local experience. And co-founder Steve Chen said that while global expansion was always part of the YouTube plan, “due to lack of resources and international expertise when YouTube was an independent company, we could never have really gone down this path.”

But it’s a path full of potential pitfalls. As Marshall Kirkpatrick writes: “It’s possible that people in Brazil just want to watch the newest Avril Lavigne music video — but somewhere in the long tail of local YouTube users is likely someone taking issue with their local laws and customs. It’s a real shame that YouTube has already disavowed offering support for people who would use this potentially liberating technology in ways that local governments disapprove of.”