Russian authorities acknowledged on Thursday that they are intentionally slowing down the loading speed of YouTube in response to Google’s refusal to comply with Russia’s technology regulations.
By the end of this week, YouTube download speeds on Russian desktops could drop by 40 percent, and by the end of next week by 70 percent, according to Alexander Hinshtein, a Russian lawmaker in charge of Russian information policy, who added that the slowdown would not affect YouTube on mobile phones “for now.”
Hinshteyn’s statement came after complaints from Russian users and experts about recent disruptions to the Google-owned video-sharing service, and speculation that Russia is preparing to ban YouTube in the country.
The Kremlin denied this speculation in early June, blaming the outage on “technical issues with Google Global Cache equipment,” which allows local internet providers to serve certain Google content from within their networks.
Russian authorities said that Google had not updated this equipment for the past two years, causing some of its servers to deteriorate. Local media reported that Google had actually stopped supporting its servers in Russia due to sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But this week, Russian authorities acknowledged that the measures against YouTube in the country were deliberate.
“YouTube’s future in Russia depends on YouTube itself. If YouTube does not change its policy and comply with our country’s laws, nothing good awaits it here,” Hinshtein said, adding that Russia is “actively developing” its own alternative platforms, such as Rutube and VK Video.
He said Russia’s recent slowdown of YouTube was due to the platform’s “anti-Russia policies.”
“YouTube regularly removes channels of public figures – bloggers, journalists, artists – who take positions that differ from Western points of view,” Hinshtein added, also accusing YouTube of “violating and ignoring” Russian law.
Kinshtein said the latest measures had already worsened YouTube video quality for some users, with the country’s telecommunications authority choosing to slow down YouTube in the summer because “the majority of people are on vacation and access the Internet using mobile devices.”
“While YouTube’s degradation won’t have any impact on them, the platforms themselves will be aware that the government has moved from persuasion to concrete action,” Kinstein added.
The move against YouTube is one of the latest steps Russia has taken to isolate its internet from the rest of the world. Earlier this month, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor reportedly asked US tech giant Apple to remove dozens of virtual private network (VPN) services from its Russian version of the App Store.
The reason for the removal was non-compliance with local legal requirements, specifically references to content considered illegal in Russia.
The Kremlin has long wanted to build its own internet, called Runet, that would operate independently from the rest of the world and be governed by Russian law.
Its ambitions have become more achievable over the past three years as many major Western tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Google, have suspended or restricted their services in Russia, prompting users and businesses to switch to Russian alternatives.
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