The Ministry of Digital Arts has denied reports of plans to block YouTube and WhatsApp
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The Ministry of Digital Development does not discuss blocking YouTube and WhatsApp (owned by Meta – recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) in Russia. This was stated by the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications Maksut Shadayev.
“The issue of blocking YouTube and WhatsApp is not on the agenda,” the minister said at the Kazan Digital Week forum (quote according to RIA Novosti).
On September 13, WhatsApp announced the global launch of the Channels feature in over 150 countries. After this, Roskomnadzor allowed the messenger to be blocked if it refused to delete “unfriendly channels.” It was emphasized that the legal requirements apply to all companies that operate in the country and focus on Russian users.
Blocking YouTube, in turn, could do “more harm than good,” the State Duma said. According to Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, Russia needs to develop its own projects before blocking the American platform.
Prior to this, the head of the information policy committee, Alexander Khinshtein, also said that the ban on YouTube in the country was premature. According to him, there is currently no full-fledged replacement for this video hosting among Russian analogues.
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