Rostelecom warns of YouTube disruptions

YouTube may experience disruptions in Russia due to problems with equipment owned by Google, Rostelecom reported on its website.

"Due to problems with the operation of the said equipment and the impossibility of expanding it in the context of the growth of processed traffic, there is a serious overload of the existing capacities, including at peering junctions. This may affect the download speed and quality of playback of videos on YouTube for subscribers of all Russian operators," the statement says.

Russian authorities began "deliberately slowing down the work" of the video hosting service on July 11, Meduza writes , citing a source in the telecommunications market.

According to him, the message about technical problems with the equipment is an attempt to “shift responsibility.”

"The source noted that Roskomnadzor has enough tools to narrow traffic on its own," Meduza writes. The publication's source also noted that some users may have already noticed a slowdown in YouTube.

At the end of June , it became known that a YouTube analogue had been launched in Russia — a service called “Platforma.” Its developer was a company associated with the propaganda TV channel Russia Today. The state agency TASS reported that the “Platforma” interface was very similar to the YouTube interface.

At the end of May this year, Russian human rights activists and journalists appealed to the management of Google, which owns YouTube, asking them to stop helping Russian censorship. The reason was that the video hosting service warned about the possible blocking of channels of Russian human rights organizations, which talked, in particular, about evasion of military service. YouTube stated that it was fulfilling the demands of Roskomnadzor.

To get the main news faster, subscribe to our telegram and twitter .