Russians have threatened street protests following a sudden slowdown in YouTube that began in mid-July.
The slowdowns on the video streaming service began last month when Alexander Hinshtein, a member of the Russian State Duma, announced that upload speeds to the platform would soon be reduced by 70 percent. YouTube “violates and ignores the law with impunity,” Hinshtein said, adding that the measures were mandatory.
A woman watches an investigative film about the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who co-starred with President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on January 21, 2021. Russians have threatened to take to the streets following YouTube’s sudden slowdown, which began in mid-July. View more ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
By August 8, many YouTube users across the country reported that the platform had stopped working. According to independent media reports, thousands of people in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg complained that they could no longer access the site, while some said high-quality videos would not load on some desktop browsers.
As the war with Ukraine continues, YouTube is one of the few platforms where Russians can access dissent material.
Meduza, an independent Russian media outlet based in Latvia, reported citing sources that authorities have no plans to completely block YouTube in Russia, but hope that Russians will gradually move away from the platform as loading issues inconvenience users.
“The service continues to function, so we can say there is no blockage,” the source said.
Newsweek reached out to YouTube’s parent company, Google, and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment in emails.
Russians have been attempting to take to the streets over the blackout, with local authorities preventing Moscow residents from protesting on August 8, according to independent media and the Telegram channel “Beware, Moscow.”
“The reason for the refusal is the epidemiological situation and COVID restrictions that prohibit public events,” the channel said.
“Authorities also warned residents of the capital that organisers and participants may be held responsible if the event goes ahead,” it added.
The Moscow resident told his Telegram channel that the purpose of the protest was to “demonstrate public opposition to the blocking and slowdown of the YouTube video hosting service.”
“We have to at least try to change something, because no one can or will help us except ourselves,” he said.
Meduza separately reported on Monday that Russians are ready to protest over the matter, and even their officials are protesting.
The German Council on Foreign Relations published an analysis in April assessing that it was only a matter of time before YouTube was banned in Russia, calling the video streaming service “the last bastion of freedom of expression and information in Russia.”
“Banning the platform would undermine democratic principles and free speech in the country, and it is a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’,” the council said. “To prevent further isolation of Russian society, democratic policymakers must act swiftly, including by encouraging Google to cooperate and strengthening YouTube’s infrastructure, as well as reviewing sanctions measures.”
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