MOSCOW: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday accused YouTube of “censorship” after the US video-sharing platform blocked the German-language channels of state broadcaster RT.
The move comes amid an escalating standoff between foreign tech giants and the Kremlin as Russia seeks greater control over content available online to its domestic audience.
“There are signs that the laws of the Russian Federation have been violated — and violated very grossly. This is associated with censorship and with obstruction to the dissemination of information in the media,” Peskov told reporters.
He said that Russian law should apply in this case as the two channels — RT DE and Der Fehlende Part — are subsidiaries of a Russian company, despite operating in Germany.
“We should not rule out the possibility of taking measures to force this platform to comply with our laws,” he added.
“There must be zero tolerance for such violations.”
Earlier Wednesday Russia’s foreign ministry accused YouTube of an “unprecedented act of media aggression” which it said was likely aided by German authorities.
And Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor threatened to restrict access to YouTube in the country.
It said the platform could be issued with a warning and “the law provides for measures of full or partial restriction of access” if such warnings are ignored.
Kremlin blasts YouTube for ‘censorship’ after German RT channels blocked
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Kremlin blasts YouTube for ‘censorship’ after German RT channels blocked
- Russia accuses YouTube of “censorship”after the platform blocked the German language channel of Russia Today
EU warns Meta it must open up WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots
- The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules
BRUSSELS: The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules.
The European Commission said a change in Meta’s terms had “effectively” barred third-party artificial intelligence assistants from connecting to customers via the messaging platform since January.
Competition chief Teresa Ribera said the EU was “considering quickly imposing interim measures on Meta, to preserve access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation is ongoing, and avoid Meta’s new policy irreparably harming competition in Europe.”
The EU executive, which is in charge of competition policy, sent Meta a warning known as a “statement of objections,” a formal step in antitrust probes.
Meta now has a chance to reply and defend itself. Monday’s step does not prejudge the outcome of the probe, the commission said.
The tech giant rejected the commission’s preliminary findings.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships. The commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots,” the spokesperson said.
Opened in December, the EU probe marks the latest attempt by the 27-nation bloc to rein in Big Tech, many of whom are based in the United States, in the face of strong pushback by the government of US President Donald Trump.
- Meta in the firing line -
The investigation covers the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of the bloc’s 27 states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — with the exception of Italy, which opened a separate investigation into Meta in July.
The commission said that Meta is “likely to be dominant” in the EEA for consumer messaging apps, notably through WhatsApp, and accused Meta of “abusing this dominant position by refusing access” to competitors.
“We cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” Ribera said in a statement.
There is no legal deadline for concluding an antitrust probe.
Meta is already under investigation under different laws in the European Union.
EU regulators are also investigating its platforms Facebook and Instagram over fears they are not doing enough to tackle the risk of social media addiction for children.
The company also appealed a 200-million-euro fine imposed last year by the commission under the online competition law, the Digital Markets Act.
That case focused on its policy asking users to choose between an ad-free subscription and a free, ad-supported service, and Brussels and Meta remain in discussions over finding an alternative that would address the EU’s concerns.
