In a brief statement on Wednesday, Google officials rejected the notion of removing the video on grounds it did not violate YouTube’s policies, but restricted viewers in Egypt and Libya from loading it due to the special circumstances in the country.

“This video – which is widely available on the Web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube,” Google said in a statement. “However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt, we have temporarily restricted access in both countries.”