Get the latest tech news

Digital iron curtain: Russia’s clampdown on YouTube and the fight for free information

As Kremlin censorship escalates, Russians grapple with a future of restricted digital access and the potential loss of the country’s most popular social media platform.

Recently, Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media) began slowing down YouTube, silencing opposition voices, and cutting off access to a vast array of nonpolitical content, from entertainment to education. IT specialist Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Society for the Protection of the Internet, told The Media Line that YouTube is a highly significant platform in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with acting governor of Kaliningrad Region Alexei Besprozvannykh at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia August 14, 2024.

Get the Android app