BEIJING —  China's communist government is apparently blocking YouTube over videos covering the recent protests in Tibet.

YouTube is generally easily available in China, which has about 210 million Internet users.

But access has been blocked after videos on the site showed foreign news reports about protests that erupted Friday in capital of Tibet. Montages of photos were also blocked, as well as scenes from Tibet-related protests abroad.

Internet users trying to call up YouTube saw only a blank screen.

Chinese leaders encourage Internet use for education and business. But they use online filters to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic.