Latest example of the standoff between the Russian authorities and the digital giants: Moscow announced, Monday, April 19, the opening of an investigation against Google and its YouTube video platform for ” abuse of dominant position “.
“The rules for creating, suspending and blocking YouTube accounts and user requests are opaque, non-objective and unpredictable”, justified the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) in a press release. “This leads to sudden lockdowns and deletion of user accounts without warning or basis for such actions. “
According to the FAS, these alleged measures may “Harm the interests of users and limit competition in adjacent markets”.
“In de facto competition with the States”
The FAS explains that its investigation follows the report of an unknown organization, the Regional Center of Internet Technologies (Rotsit), which presents itself as a defending group “The interests of Internet users” Russian. “The fact that the publication and broadcasting of video content in Russia can be regulated by the legislation of other countries is not correct”, had denounced the Rotsit in a statement in December.
The Russian authorities have increased criticism and sanctions in recent weeks against the American platforms Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, but also against the Chinese TikTok, denouncing their omnipotence and criticizing their moderation of content, in particular policies.
In a country where, unlike traditional media, the Internet remains relatively free, many Russians are increasingly getting information from sites like YouTube. The investigations of the opponent Alexeï Navalny, currently imprisoned, display tens of millions of views on the platform. At the same time, the authorities were recently annoyed by the suspension of films favorable to the Kremlin broadcast on YouTube.
At the end of January, Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled that the Internet giants were “Already in de facto competition with the States”, evoking their “Attempts to brutally control society”.