ONS24, an internet provider based in Moscow, has published and later retracted an announcement that access to all Google services would be completely restricted in the future after YouTube slowed down to “unusable speed” following the Kremlin’s restrictions imposed two weeks ago.
The original announcement claimed that all Google services would be restricted in Russia in the future and called on locals to prepare for alternatives.
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“Due to the government’s decision, access to Google’s services, including YouTube, has been slowed down to unacceptable speeds. As a provider, we, like other providers, cannot influence the situation. We ask for your understanding.
“We anticipate that access to all Google services will be completely closed in the future, so we recommend switching to alternative platforms,” read the original announcement.
Later, the announcement on the website changed and removed the warning of Google services closure, and instead said they were waiting for an “official explanation” from officials.
“This important issue is being worked on by many good people from various government agencies, we expect an official explanation from them on the situation, which we will definitely publish,” the new announcement read.
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Following the initial announcement, Anton Tkachev, First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications told Parlamentskaya Gazeta that the Kremlin has no plans to block all Google services.
“As far as I know, no official structure – neither the Ministry of Digital Development, nor Roskomnadzor [Russia’s media censorship agency] – has announced such plans. According to the information we have at the moment, all third-party Google services are operating normally,” said Tkachev.
However, Russian lawmaker Alexey Didenko told RuNews 24 on Aug. 2 that Google and other Western tech giants would soon be banned in Russia.
“Soon Google will be blocked, and with it Google Android. iOS will also be blocked, and this will not happen on our initiative. We recommend that business representatives and scientists switch to other platforms,” said Didenko.
Many have speculated that Russia would ban access to Western tech companies such as Google in its attempt to further its grip over the informational space, as shown by the creation of a government-endorsed alternative to Wikipedia that contained Moscow-friendly narratives.
Kremlin’s row with YouTube over alleged censorships
On July 25, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein announced that YouTube loading speed for computers in Russia would drop by 40 percent and reach 70 percent a week later due to YouTube’s decision to remove channels of pro-war celebrities in Russia.
Supposedly, access to YouTube through mobile applications would not be affected by the restrictions.
Khinshtein claimed that the restrictions were “a forced step, directed not against Russian users, but against the administration of a foreign resource, which still believes that it can violate and ignore our legislation with impunity,” since the platform refused to reinstate the removed profiles.
However, YouTube has also removed content at Roskomnadzor’s request in the past, including Russian videos on how to evade mobilization.
Khinshtein, a vocal opponent of Western social media in Russia, also introduced a bill to Russia’s State Duma to ban locals from advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
However, Russian news outlets discovered that his wife, actress Olga Polyakova, listed advertisement services on her Instagram page, which she later removed. Khinshtein later rejected claims that his wife sold advertisements and said he urged her to “fully migrate” to Russian social network VKontakte.
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