Russia on Tuesday demanded Google reinstate more than 200 Russian YouTube channels that the US company blocked due to spreading pro-Kremlin content, including over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian officials and politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the video-hosting platform, but have so far not moved to cut off access.
Roskomnadzor, the country’s communications regulator, wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai demanding that he “unblock more than 200 channels of media outlets, government bodies, sports clubs and political and artistic personalities that have supported the policies of Russia,” the state-run TASS news agency reported.
Google-owned YouTube has blocked access to dozens of channels linked to Russian state-funded media and figures that aggressively support Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine.
Moscow has also blocked dozens of Western media outlets and deepened its control over the online space amid its military campaign.
Speculation over whether Russian authorities will outright block YouTube, one of the most popular media platforms in the country, has swirled amid the heightened pressure on US technology companies and media outlets.
Russia outlawed Facebook and Instagram-owner Meta as an extremist organisation in 2022.
Last week a Russian mobile operator, Rostelecom, said that speeds on YouTube had slowed down.
It blamed it on old equipment, but the announcement triggered a flurry of rumours and public concern that the authorities were behind the move — something denied by the Kremlin, which also pointed to “problems with Google’s technical equipment.”
