YouTube speeds in Russia are set to sharply decline on desktop computers due to Google’s failure to upgrade its equipment in Russia and its refusal to unblock channels of Russian media, a senior lawmaker close to the authorities said on Friday.
Russia has criticized Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG, NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google for taking down YouTube channels of Russian media and public figures and fined the U.S. company several times for failing to remove content Russia considers illegal or undesirable.
On Thursday, Alexander Khinshtein, head of the lower house of parliament’s information policy committee, said slower speeds on the video hosting site was a forced step against YouTube for believing it could violate Russian law without punishment.
Writing on Telegram on Friday, Khinshtein sought to clarify those comments, and his claim that YouTube download speeds in Russia were down 40% and set to drop by up to 70% next week.
“This is primarily due to the actions (or rather inaction) of YouTube itself,” Khinshtein said.
Communications regulator Roskomnadzor said that YouTube’s quality was declining because Google hadn’t upgraded its Google Global Cache servers in Russia.
Khinshtein also said Google had not invested in Russian infrastructure and allowed its local subsidiary to go bankrupt. This situation prevented the subsidiary from paying for local data center services.
Google did not respond to a request for comment on those accusations.
YouTube blocked access around the world to channels associated with Russian state-funded media in March 2022, citing a policy barring content that denies, minimizes, or trivializes well-documented violent events. It said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fell under its violent events policy and violating material would be removed.
Google’s Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy later that year, saying that Russian authorities’ seizure of its bank account had made it untenable for its Russia office to function, including paying Russia-based employees, suppliers, and vendors.
Russia has blocked and slowed down other social media, restrictions that many Russians circumvent using virtual private networks (VPNs). Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Friday proposed blocking YouTube outright.
Moscow’s biggest gripe, Khinshtein said, was YouTube’s “openly anti-Russian policy” and its refusal to unblock Russian channels, as demanded by Roskomnadzor.
(Source: ReutersReuters)
