Putin Blames YouTube for Slowdowns in Russia
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Alphabet's YouTube of deliberately slowing down its video hosting service in Russia, reports Reuters. Putin, speaking on Thursday, claimed that Google, YouTube's parent company, must comply with Russian law to continue operating within the country.
Critics in Russia allege that the authorities are intentionally disrupting YouTube to prevent citizens from accessing content critical of Putin and his administration. Russian authorities deny these claims, attributing the service's slowdowns to Google's failure to upgrade its equipment—a charge disputed by Google and technology experts.
"We see how YouTube is slowing down in Russia, and for us this is already a signal that this company is working, in my opinion, to violate our laws," Putin said during his annual press conference. He added that Google must "fully comply with Russian law," implying that the company's continued presence in Russia is contingent on addressing these issues.
Russian internet monitoring services have reported widespread YouTube outages in recent months. However, communications regulator Roskomnadzor insists that it is not blocking YouTube traffic.
Google has yet to issue a formal statement regarding Putin's remarks. However, technology experts and Google itself have previously refuted the Russian government's claims about equipment upgrades, suggesting a more deliberate effort to control information flow within Russia.