Posted on 04/09/22
| News Source: The Hill
YouTube blocked a Russian parliamentary channel “for a violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
The video platform terminated the channel for Russia’s lower house of parliament.
“If we find that an account violates our Terms of Service, we take appropriate action. Our teams are closely monitoring the situation for any updates and changes,” Google, YouTube’s parent company, told Reuters in an email, noting that it was committed to trade compliance law adherence and sanction compliance.
But the move drew outrage from Russian figures and Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor.
“The American IT company adheres to a pronounced anti-Russian position in the information war unleashed by the West against our country,” Roskomnadzor said, according to the news wire, noting it had asked Google to restore access to Duma TV.
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed in a message on Telegram that “the USA wants to obtain a monopoly on promoting information,” Reuters noted, while Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that “YouTube has signed its own warrant.