Roskomnadzor sent a letter to the management of the American company Google LLC demanding that all restrictions be lifted from the YouTube channel RT, owned by the Russian media, as soon as possible. This is stated on April 24 in a message on the agency’s website.
The service previously blocked a number of materials from the Russian channel, and also limited the ability to publish video materials and conduct live broadcasts under the pretext of disseminating inaccurate information about COVID-19 and its consequences.
“Such actions of the administration of the video hosting YouTube violate the key principles of free distribution of information, unhindered access to it and are an act of censorship in relation to the Russian media,” the department stressed.
Roskomnadzor also demanded that Google explain the reasons for the restrictions.
The owners of Internet resources ignoring warnings about violations of the rights of Russians on the Internet, including censorship of Russian media, will result in a fine of up to 1 million rubles.
“A repeated refusal to comply with the requirements will entail a multiple increase in fines – up to 3 million rubles,” the RKN recalled.
As reported earlier that day, Roskomnadzor recorded regular censorship by the YouTube administration in relation to content posted on Russian media accounts. The alleged inconsistency of the content of the age category is used as a pretext, the RKN pointed out.
As noted by Gazeta.ru, YouTube has not removed almost 6 thousand materials containing illegal information. Since 2012, more than 71 thousand materials containing child pornography, calls to extremism, suicidal content and other illegal videos have been found on video hosting.
For failure to remove Internet resources with prohibited information from search results, Google was fined three times – 700 thousand rubles, 1.5 million rubles and 3 million rubles.
On April 16, representatives of Google, at a meeting of the State Duma commission to investigate the facts of foreign interference in the internal affairs of Russia, expressed their readiness to continue working in the Russian legal field. As the head of the commission, Vasily Piskarev, noted, the company does not want to lose its audience on YouTube, which reaches approximately 80 million daily visits.