(Reuters) – YouTube has blocked “Douma-TV”, the channel of the lower house of the Russian parliament, angering Russian officials who have threatened retaliation.
On Saturday, a post on YouTube, owned by Alphabet, said the Duma account had been “terminated for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service”.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma speaker, said YouTube’s decision was further evidence of Washington’s violations of rights and freedoms.
“The United States wants to obtain a monopoly on the dissemination of information. We cannot allow this to happen,” Vyacheslav Volodin declared on Telegram.
Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor has asked Google to immediately restore access to the parliamentary channel.
“The American IT company adheres to an anti-Russian position displayed in the information war unleashed by the West against our country,” the regulator said.
In an email to Reuters, Google said it is complying with all applicable sanctions and compliance rules.
“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 says.
Russia has already restricted access to Twitter and Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Roskomnadzor announced Thursday retaliatory measures against Google, which it accuses of broadcasting “false images” of the Ukrainian conflict.
In particular, the regulator forbids him any advertising for the platform and its information resources.
(Reuters report, French version Matthieu Protard)