YouTube’s speed in Russia will drop sharply on desktop computers because of Google’s failure to update its equipment in Russia and its refusal to lift a ban on Russian media channels, a senior lawmaker close to the authorities said on Friday.
Russia has criticized Alphabet Inc’s Google for removing YouTube channels of Russian media outlets and public figures, and has fined the U.S. company several times for failing to remove content that Russia considers illegal or objectionable.
Alexander Khinshtein, head of the Russian lower house of parliament’s information policy committee, said on Thursday that slowing down the video hosting site was a coercive move directed against YouTube for believing it could violate Russian law with impunity.
In a post on Telegram on Friday, Khinshtein sought to clarify those comments, and his claim that YouTube download speeds in Russia have dropped by 40% and are set to drop by up to 70% next week.
“This is primarily due to the actions (or rather inaction) of YouTube itself,” Khinstein said.
Roskomnadzor, the communications regulator, said YouTube quality was declining because Google had not updated its Google Global Cache servers in Russia.
Khinshtein also said that Google did not invest in Russian infrastructure and allowed its local subsidiary to go bankrupt, thus preventing it from paying for local data center services.
Google did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
In March 2022, YouTube blocked access to channels linked to Russian state-funded media outlets around the world, citing a policy that prohibits content that denies or downplays well-documented violent events. It said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fell under its policy on violent events, and that offending material would be removed.
Later that year, Google’s Russian subsidiary declared bankruptcy, saying the seizure of its bank account by Russian authorities had made it impossible for its Russian office to operate, including paying salaries to employees, suppliers and vendors based in Russia.
Russia has blocked and slowed other social media sites, restrictions that many Russians circumvent using virtual private networks (VPNs). Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Friday suggested blocking YouTube entirely.
Moscow’s biggest complaint, Khinshtein said, is YouTube’s “openly anti-Russian policy” and its refusal to lift the ban on Russian channels, as demanded by Russia’s communications watchdog.
