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YouTube must protect free speech in Russia and “take clear and decisive action” against authorities blocking orders.
It looks like the Big Tech giant is failing to fulfill this moral duty, though.
The Google-owned company refused to do business in the country and closed down its Moscow office.
On the other hand, though, it is still obeying Russian censors' orders.
YouTube censorship in Russia is on the rise
Let’s look at some data.
Russia VPNservices came on the radar as well.
Starting in March, anew lawcriminalizes the spread of information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions.
This means that authorities have now the right to censor VPN tutorials and similar content.
At the same time, it also encrypts internet connections to boost user anonymity online.
The team refused to comply and the video is still available at the time of writing.
All this is pretty serious.
VPNs are crucial in Russia as they have the power to reconnect a growing splinter RuNet, Darbinyan explained.
On one side, there’s the highly restricted web under the control of Roskomnadzor and state companies.
On the other, the free internet that journalists and bloggers in exile are trying to build.
VPNs act then as smaller bridges between the two webs.
This is the reason why the Kremlin has increasingly been trying to block their usage over the years.
Darbinyan confirmed that Roskomnadzor continues its massive hunt for VPN services to this day, in fact.
This activity aims to exclude certain videos from the algorithm’s recommendations so that users cannot find them.
