The State Duma has ruled out blocking YouTube for now
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In Russia they will not block YouTube until its full-fledged analogue appears. This was stated by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein.
“Today, unfortunately, there is no adequate and full-fledged replacement for YouTube in Russian analogues, the key word here is for now,” said the deputy (quote via Interfax). At the same time, he noted that the video service now “takes a rather subjective and politically motivated position in relation to Russia.”
Khinshtein also assessed the possibility of blocking WhatsApp (owned by Meta – recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). According to him, banning the messenger “will not create serious problems” for users, unlike blocking YouTube.
On September 13, WhatsApp announced the global launch of the Channels feature in over 150 countries. After this, the State Duma allowed a review of the decision on the operation of WhatsApp in Russia if the messenger begins to “expand its functionality towards mass dissemination of information.”
Later, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Vladislav Davankov appealed to Roskomnadzor with a request not to block the social network, as this could lead to a negative reaction from Russian society. In addition, according to the vice speaker, this may also affect representatives of small and medium-sized businesses who use the messenger as a means of communicating with clients.
The service clarified that blocking is possible if WhatsApp refuses to delete “unfriendly channels.” Currently, other Meta social networks – Instagram and Facebook – are blocked in Russia.
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