Youtube crackdown by Russia: Roskomnadzor demands unblocking channels
"Violations of the law and lack of respect for Russia and its citizens form the basis for taking action against YouTube," reads the Friday announcement from Roskomnadzor. This concerns the blocking of over 200 pro-Russian channels on the platform. Meanwhile, Ramzan Kadyrov called for the "immediate closure of the hell" that, in his opinion, is YouTube.
The issue began on July 10. That's when Russian authorities asked Google to restore over 200 pro-government channels on YouTube that had been blocked following the invasion of Ukraine.
Roskomnadzor wants to restore propaganda
The Russian state media oversight body, Roskomnadzor, reported that it had sent a "request to unblock the channels of Russian media, federal authorities, companies, and sports clubs," as well as "various public, political, and musical figures who express support for the actions of Russian authorities," to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Roskomnadzor's demand was made less than a week after the state-owned Russian telecommunications operator Rostelecom warned that streaming speed on YouTube would deteriorate due to alleged "technical problems." For the past week, YouTube access has been deliberately slowed in Russia. The reduction currently stands at 40%, and by the end of the next week, it is expected to reach as high as 80%.
Pro-Kremlin and independent media report that the Russian government is deliberately slowing down YouTube, planning to block it by the end of this year completely. The Kremlin denied these reports, blaming Google for withdrawing equipment from Russia.
"For now, Moscow has not decided to block YouTube, as it did with Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, as well as dozens of independent media outlets. YouTube suspended monetization and all paid services in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022," recalls "The Moscow Times."
Before the full-scale invasion, Russia threatened to punish Google and other Western tech companies if they did not remove banned content, including any content supporting, among others, the late oppositionist Alexei Navalny.
Russia takes aim at the American giant
On Friday, July 26, at 11:00 AM ET, Roskomnadzor announced that "violations of the law and lack of respect for Russia and its citizens form the basis for taking action against YouTube."
"The Russian Federation has sufficient tools to motivate Google to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation. Roskomnadzor reserves the right to use them," it added.
Meanwhile, Ramzan Kadyrov stated in an interview with Russian media that YouTube should have been "closed this hell a long time ago." - We need to close this damn thing today. That's all. It will be easier for us, he said.
According to him, Russians "do not switch to domestic social networks" because leading actors, artists, and football players are "on foreign platforms." He believes that if the authorities "ensured that they are on our websites," Russian social networks would develop.
