Russians have threatened to take to the streets amid a sudden YouTube slowdown, which began in mid-July.
The slowdown of the video-streaming service began last month after Alexander Khinshtein, a member of Russia’s State Duma (lower Parliament), announced that the speed of uploads to the platform would soon drop by 70 percent. YouTube “violates and ignores the law with impunity,” Khinshtein said, adding that the move is a forced measure.
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By August 8, YouTube’s many users across the country reported that the platform had stopped working—thousands from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg complained that they could no longer access the site, independent media reported. Others said that high-quality clips wouldn’t load on some desktop browsers.
YouTube is one of the last platforms where Russians are able to access content that contain opposition views, amid the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Independent Latvia-based Russian publication Meduza reported, citing an informed source, that authorities don’t intend to block YouTube completely in the country. However, they hope Russians will gradually veer away from the platform due to loading issues, which present inconveniences to users.
“We can say that there is no blocking, because the service is still working,” the source said.
Newsweek has contacted YouTube’s parent company Google and Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
Russians have attempted to take to the streets over the outage, according to independent media and Telegram channel Beware, Moscow, which reported on August 8 that local authorities blocked a Muscovite from holding a protest.
“The reason for the refusal was the ban on public events due to the epidemiological situation and COVID restrictions,” the channel said.
“Officials also warned the capital resident that ‘if the said event is held, the organizers and participants may be held liable,'” it added.
The Muscovite told the Telegram channel that the goal of the protest was to “demonstrate citizens’ disagreement with the blocking and slowdown of the YouTube video hosting service.”
“We must at least try to change something, because no one but ourselves can or will help us,” he said.
Meduza separately reported on Monday that Russians are ready to protest over the matter, and that even officials are protesting.
In April, the German Council on Foreign Relations published analysis that assessed banning YouTube in Russia was just a matter of time, describing the video streaming service as “the last bastion of free expression and information in Russia.”
“A ban on the platform would hurt democratic principles and freedom of speech in the country – and it is not a question of if but when,” the council said. “To prevent the further isolation of Russian society, democratic policymakers must act swiftly by urging Google to cooperate and to bolster YouTube’s infrastructure, as well as by reviewing sanctions.”
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