Support The Moscow Times!

Russia Threatens to Block YouTube for ‘Censoring’ State Media

The bill accuses YouTube, Facebook and Twitter of having “censored” the accounts of Russian state-run news outlets. Tatyana Flegontova / TASS

Russia could block YouTube and other major U.S. social media platforms for “censoring” content from Russian state media, according to draft legislation submitted to parliament Thursday.

The draft bill explains that the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry would be able to identify foreign platforms they view as violating Russians’ rights by restricting content. That designation would allow Russia’s federal media watchdog Roskomnadzor to fully or partially block the platform.

The bill’s explanatory note singles out YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for having “censored” the accounts of Russian state-run news outlets including RT, RIA Novosti and Crimea 24 since April. Facebook and Twitter began labeling state-affiliated media accounts this summer, months after Alphabet’s YouTube introduced similar labels. 

The urgency in adopting the draft law,” says a Reuters translation of the explanatory note, “is due to numerous cases of unjustified restriction of Russian citizens’ access to information in the Russian media.

The Kremlin said a mechanism is needed to counter the perceived discrimination of Russian content but stopped short of endorsing the restrictions. 

Discriminatory actions against Russian clients of these services have taken place,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Bloomberg.

This must be countered,” Peskov said.

Lawmakers in the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, and the upper-house Federation Council need to approve the draft bill before President Vladimir Putin can sign it into law.

Currently, Moscow levies relatively small fines against Facebook and Twitter for not complying with a 2015 law requiring social media companies to store Russian users' data on Russian servers. Russia blocked access to LinkedIn for violating that law in 2016.

Russia attempted to block the popular Telegram messaging app in 2018 for not sharing encryption keys with the security services. Roskomnadzor, the media watchdog, joined Telegram this week after the failed two-year effort to ban it.

Last year, Russia passed a “sovereign internet” law tightening state control of web traffic in response to what Moscow called an aggressive U.S. cybersecurity strategy. Free speech activists criticized the law, saying it could allow the authorities to restrict access to information at will.

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan cheered on the latest bill but criticized the “laughable” fines of up to 3 million rubles ($39,000), calling them “more of an annoyance than a threat to Google and the likes.” 

If the bill is passed, Russian authorities would also be able to throttle traffic to the offending platforms.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more