Why Russia blocked Western social media — but not YouTube – The Hill

In his campaign to control what ordinary Russians can learn about the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has made a notable exception.

He has blocked or restricted Facebook, Twitter, and most other Western-based social media sites, but one major platform — YouTube — remains available. Any Russian with an internet connection can click onto YouTube to see videos about Putin’s lawless aggression as depicted by CNN, the BBC, or even exiled allies of imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

Why does YouTube get special dispensation? Part of the answer is that even before the war, it was the most popular social media site in Russia. Three-quarters of Russians active on the internet use YouTube and would resent it going dark.

“When we restrict something, we should clearly understand that our users won’t suffer,” Maksut Shadaev, Putin’s minister for digital development, explained recently.

But there’s another likely reason Putin treats YouTube differently — namely, his recognition that for…

Read Full Story: https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3520997-why-russia-blocked-western-social-media-but-not-youtube/

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