Russian government announces it will limit YouTube speeds by 70% as punishment for not bowing to pressure from Russian authorities
Russian authorities have announced that they will slow down YouTube speeds by up to 70% in response to pressure from the Russian government over YouTube's blocking of Russian state-run media channels.
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Russia to deliberately slow down YouTube to punish Google, State Duma deputy says — Meduza
https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/07/25/russia-to-slow-youtube-by-70-percent-on-desktop-computers-to-penalize-google-state-duma-deputy-says
As relations between Russia and the West have cooled following the invasion of Ukraine, YouTube has resisted the 'digital Iron Curtain' and continues to provide services to Russia. However, it is facing difficulties, including being fined heavily for not complying with Russian government censorship.
Of particular concern to Russian authorities is YouTube's removal of Russian state-run media channels.
YouTube blocks Russian state media channels worldwide - GIGAZINE
Alexander Khinstein, chairman of the Russian State Duma's Technology Committee, announced on July 25, 2024 that YouTube's speed in Russia would be slowed by 40% during the fourth week of July 2024 and up to 70% by the following weekend as part of a move to pressure YouTube to restore state media channels.
'All that is happening is the result of YouTube's anti-Russian policy, which continues to remove channels of Russian bloggers, journalists, artists and other public figures who take positions that differ from those of the West,' Kinstein wrote in his Telegram post.
YouTube's parent company, Google's Russian subsidiary, reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after a series of fines led authorities to seize Google's bank accounts. However, Google continues to offer free services such as search, YouTube and Gmail to Russia.
As a result, Google's services are second only to Yandex, the Russian IT giant known as the 'Russian Google,' in terms of usage, and it is said that about half of Russians use YouTube every month.
Google did not respond to multiple media requests for comment.
According to Russian independent media Meduza, on July 12, 2024, Russian telecommunications authorities warned Google that YouTube speeds may be slowed down due to 'technical problems with equipment.' An IT expert interviewed by Meduza said that the results of an investigation into Russia's internet traffic confirmed that the authorities were indeed slowing down YouTube speeds.
The speed throttling only applies to the desktop version of YouTube's service, and mobile versions have not been affected so far. Kinshtein said that alternative services such as Russian video sharing services RuTube and VK Video will take YouTube's place, and that YouTube's fate in Russia is up to the company.
'If the authorities don't change course and comply with the laws of our country, we can't expect anything good,' Kinstein wrote in the post.
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