YouTube speeds in Russia are set to slow dramatically due to Google’s alleged failure to maintain its infrastructure and comply with Russian regulations, with one senior lawmaker claiming that YouTube download speeds have already fallen by 40% and could plummet by up to 70% next week.
“This is primarily due to YouTube’s own actions (or rather inaction),” said Alexander Hinshtein, chairman of the Duma’s Information Policy Committee, adding that the slowdown of the video-streaming site was a coercive measure aimed at the company because it believed it could violate Russian law with impunity.
Hinshteyn claimed that Google had not invested in its infrastructure in Russia and allowed its local subsidiaries to go bankrupt, leaving it unable to pay for its local data center services. He highlighted Google’s inaction on upgrading Google Global Cache servers in Russia to address the degradation of video quality.
Google suspends operations in Russia
Google had stopped supporting servers in Russia due to sanctions imposed by the U.S. after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. Moscow has previously fined Google multiple times over YouTube’s decision in March 2022 to block some channels linked to Russian state media.
YouTube has refused to reinstate these channels despite multiple fines and warnings from Russian authorities, Reuters reported. Russia has reportedly imposed restrictions on other social media platforms before, but the prevalence of VPNs has made these measures difficult to enforce.
Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Russian Federation republic of Chechnya (officially the Chechen Republic), has called for a total ban of YouTube in Russia.