Telegram channel “Successor”: Why did Putin talk about YouTube?

With a request to sort out the blocking of YouTube at a meeting with the President, Karen Shakhnazarov represented that part of the Russian creative elite, which has suffered greatly in income as a result of the slowdown in the service and, at the same time, has not been able to attract a commensurate audience to domestic resources.

Talk that Roskomnadzor’s actions may be related to the arrests of Rostelecom’s top managers is rather a hoax. Firstly, possible fraudulent schemes during the installation of blocking equipment did not in themselves become a trigger for relaxation. Secondly, what is important is not that the topic was discussed, but that the content of the conversation was published. This means that at the AP level the decision was worked out long before the meeting, and then went through all coordination and approval. The president formed his opinion even before meeting with the head of Mosfilm.

At the same time, one should not make too optimistic forecasts in advance and hope for the restoration of full and unhindered access. Vladimir Putin emphasized that he would understand the situation. This will take time. They decided to loosen the nuts due to the unpreparedness of the domestic IT sector to provide a fully working alternative to YouTube.

Rutube turned out to be uncompetitive, and VK Video, although it is doing generally effective work to strengthen its position in the market, is still too raw to fully take on the needs of, on the one hand, residents who actively use YouTube, on the other hand, cultural figures for whom this platform is a source of livelihood.

So far, everything indicates that the lifting of the lockdown will be partial and temporary. It was decided to carry out the preparation of Russian infrastructure systematically, without time pressure against the backdrop of social tension. In addition, in order to assess the readiness of a domestic competitor service, full testing and comparative analysis is necessary against the background of a partially functioning YouTube. This is the only way to understand whether the product is sufficiently adapted to the user’s needs and whether it can attract an audience without strict protectionist measures.

When the Russian alternative is ready in one form or another, blocking YouTube will be back on the agenda. The fact that this is a matter of the country’s information sovereignty is still a consensus opinion among Russian elites.

Moreover, at the moment, unlocking is also part of the geopolitical context. The presidential administration is demonstrating to the new leadership of the White House that Russia’s political leadership is ready to build a dialogue and take the first steps towards normalizing relations. The ball is in Washington’s court.

Telegram channel «Successor»