Slow down YouTube to almost unusable and later block the server completely. According to the Russian newspaper Gazeta.ru, the government has already declared a ban on the video server, although it has so far denied it.
YouTube is one of the last platforms in Russia where it is possible to access content that the local government would consider controversial or inconvenient at best. Up to 93 million people actively visit the video server in the country. According to the Russian newspaper Gazeta.ru, the government plans to completely block access to the server in September. Until then, it wants to make its use as uncomfortable as possible for people and force them to use local alternatives, such as the Rutube platform.
In its claims, the newspaper refers to a source from the environment of the security forces. The state regulator is supposed to start deliberately slowing down YouTube and making it unusable. In some parts of the country, it is supposed to reduce the speed of loading videos, in others, the content will not load at all. However, Russia’s largest digital service provider, Rostelecom, says YouTube’s worsening availability is due to an increase in traffic and overloading of systems responsible for streaming content. Specifically, it states that the servers that are part of the Google Global Cache technology have not been updated by the company for two years and thus do not reflect the increased demands on the operation of the service. These servers, which Google has located around the world, store popular content and services in order to reduce the load on central servers and reduce the loading time of content for end users. However, according to experts quoted by the Meduza news server, such claims are based on water and the Russian side is just trying to find an argument why blocking YouTube should be the only solution.
Source: vat.pravda.sk
