Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Alexander Khinshtein announced a reduction in the speed of video downloads on YouTube to 70% by the end of next week.
“By the end of this week, the speed of YouTube downloads on desktop computers may drop to 40%, and by the end of next week — to 70%. This measure will only affect the “desktop” versions. It will not affect mobile communications for now,” Khinshtein writes in his Telegram channel.
The deputy claims that the artificial slowdown of the video hosting service is “a forced step aimed 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.”
According to him, after this, “the resource will see with its own eyes that the state has moved from persuasion to concrete steps.” Khinshtein claims that the YouTube administration «consistently deletes» channels of Russian bloggers, artists and journalists whose position «differs from the Western point of view.»
Earlier, Rostelecom claimed that the slowdown of YouTube in Russia is due to the wear and tear of Google Global Cache equipment, which stores requested videos closer to users, without downloading them each time from foreign servers. Information security experts disagree and say that the slowdown of the hosting service in Russia is due to deliberate actions by the authorities.
A source close to the presidential administration told Gazeta.ru that YouTube could be completely blocked in Russia in the fall. According to the source, “there will be some degradation in July-August,” and in September the service will be completely blocked.
Since the beginning of the year, the YouTube administration has blocked the channels of Nikita Mikhalkov, Shaman, Polina Gagarina, Oleg Gazmanov and other artists and figures who have been sanctioned for supporting the war in Ukraine.