Russia has said it will retaliate against the closure of the State Duma’s YouTube account on the lower house of the Russian parliament, raising the possibility of a blockade in Russia of the US giant Google’s video platform.
The speaker of the Duma, Vitsislav Volodin, said that the blocking of “Duma-TV” is a measure of Washington that violates the “rights” of the Russians.
“The United States wants to have a monopoly on the transmission of information,” he told the Telegram. “We can not allow it.”
AFP reporters found that the account was no longer accessible on the platform today.
According to Google, the channel was closed due to recent sanctions announced by the US government.
“Google is committed to complying with all applicable sanctions and commercial laws. If an account violates the Terms of Use, we will take appropriate action,” a spokesman for the group said in a statement to AFP. “Our teams are closely monitoring the situation for any updates and changes,” a company e-mailed to Reuters.
According to Moscow, the “Duma-TV” account had more than 145,000 users on YouTube. It broadcast live Parliamentary sittings and interviews with Russian MPs.
“Youtube has signed his sentence,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Telegram, calling for “fast” transfer of YouTube content to Russian video platforms.
In recent weeks, amid a war in Ukraine, YouTube has been accused by Moscow of blocking accounts of pro-Kremlin media and Russian officials.
Russia’s telecommunications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, criticized Google and YouTube in March for “terrorist” activities, predicting a possible blockade of the site in Russia, as it has done with Twitter, Instagram and many other independent media outlets since the attack.
Russian authorities have stepped up their pressure and legal arsenal to control Russia over coverage of the conflict, citing the threat of up to 15 years in prison for spreading “false news” about the Russian military.
Roskomnadzor also banned Google from advertising its services in Russia on Thursday after accusing YouTube of spreading “false information” about Russian forces.
As in many other countries, YouTube is widely used in Russia, both by ordinary users for entertainment or information and by ministries or institutions for the transmission of their content.
The platform is a tool preferred by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which broadcasts tens of millions of views on the corruption of Russian elites.
Since 2006, Moscow has launched a competing video service, Rutube, without much success. But his chief executive told Interfax on Friday that he had seen a “huge” increase in the number of videos recently uploaded to the platform.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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