Contracts with YouTube Begin to Be Terminated in Russia: What is the Reason?

More than 135 regional telecommunications operators' subscribers in Russia have started terminating contracts with YouTube and other Google services due to disruptions in their operation, reports Kommersant.

Users are blaming providers for the issues related to YouTube and are terminating their contracts, explained Oleg Grishchenko, the head of Rostelecom. The association is requesting the Ministry of Digital Development and Roskomnadzor to publish clarifications regarding the causes of the slowdown.

Due to the lack of official announcements in the media and regulations published on this issue, operators are unable to explain the reasons for the problems associated with YouTube to users. They are urging the Ministry of Digital Development and Roskomnadzor to release an official explanation.

Recently, users in Russia have been experiencing problems with YouTube. Alexander Khinshtein, head of the State Duma's Information Policy Committee, explained that the slowdown in video loading on YouTube is due to issues related to data storage in Russian data centers, stating that it can drop by up to 40% on computers, and then by 70%.

The Kremlin and the State Duma deny any plans to block video hosting in the country.