(Reuters) – Russia has no plans to block Alphabet subsidiary YouTube, Russia’s digital development minister said on Tuesday, acknowledging that such a move would penalize Russian users and should be avoided.
Moscow has blocked other foreign social networks, but despite fines and threats imposed on YouTube for not removing content deemed illegal and for restricting access to certain Russian media, Russia has failed to block the video hosting service.
With around 90 million monthly users in Russia, YouTube is extremely popular and plays an important role in the digital economy. Although the country has local platforms, there is no viable alternative to YouTube.
“We don’t plan to shut down YouTube,” Maksout Chadaev, who also serves as communications and media minister, told an educational forum.
“Above all, when we restrict something, we need to be sure that our users won’t suffer,” he added.
Competition drives progress and blocking is an extreme measure, he told a large audience of mostly young Russians.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tensions between Moscow and big tech companies escalated into a full-fledged information war after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
In early March, Russia restricted access to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms. Russia’s communications regulator also announced retaliatory measures against Google in April, accusing YouTube of broadcasting “false images” about the Ukrainian conflict.
(Reporting Reuters; French version Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)
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