LONDON: A leading Russian rights group says it has received a notice from YouTube threatening to block access in Russia to one of its video channels featuring news on the war in Ukraine.
OVD-Info, an independent protest monitoring network, said it had received an email from YouTube in early May saying that the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor had found content on the channel that violated a law on information technology.
“If you do not remove the content, Google may be required to block it,” Alphabet Inc’s YouTube wrote, according to screenshots of an email shared with Reuters. The email did not specify which part of the law OVD-Info was accused of violating.
The channel, Kak Teper (What’s Going On), has 100,000 subscribers and features interviews with Russian opposition figures and political news segments that often touch on the war.
“We are consulting with YouTube and Google and trying to explain that the demand to block our channel is an act of political censorship,” said OVD-Info spokesperson Dmitrii Anisimov. He said the group’s other YouTube channel was not affected.
Contacted by Reuters two times about Youtube’s discussions with OVD-Info, a spokesperson for YouTube did not respond. The spokesperson answered separate questions about three other opposition channels which had videos blocked.
Like many Western technology companies, Google quit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, pulling its staff and suspending all advertising sales, including on YouTube.
Russia has blocked the vast majority of foreign social media platforms, but has stopped short of blocking YouTube despite fining the video-hosting platform repeatedly for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal.
YouTube has tens of millions of monthly users in Russia and blocking the entire platform could prove highly unpopular.
Russian independent media reported on Monday that YouTube had deleted videos from three other channels that provided information on how to evade Russian military service.
Two of the groups told Reuters their content had been reinstated within a day after the media reports.
When contacted by Reuters about the videos, the YouTube spokesperson replied by email: “The content in question has been reinstated to YouTube,” without elaborating.
OVD-Info’s Kak Teper would be the first Russian human rights channel to be banned on YouTube, as opposed to just a few videos, according to Natalia Krapiva, tech legal counsel at global digital rights non-profit Access Now.
“We will not have any YouTube to fight for anymore if all the civil society is blocked there,” Krapiva said in a phone interview.
Russian rights group says YouTube threatens to block its anti-war channel
https://arab.news/8wrva
Russian rights group says YouTube threatens to block its anti-war channel
- OVD-Info said YouTube’s email followed a request by the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor
BBC backs Israel’s participation in Eurovision Song Contest amid expanding boycott
- Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia withdraw, citing concerns about the war in Gaza, after organizers clear Israel to compete
- Critics accuse organizers of double standards, given that Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after invasion of Ukraine
LONDON: The BBC has backed the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, despite mounting opposition and an expanding boycott by European countries and public broadcasters.
National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have formally withdrawn from next year’s event, citing what they described as Israel’s violations of international law during its ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people, left much of the territory in ruins and prompted accusations of war crimes.
The BBC, however, said it backed the decision to allow Israel to take part in the contest.
“We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU,” a BBC spokesperson said. “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”
Israel’s participation in the 2026 event, set to take place in the Austrian capital Vienna in May, was confirmed during the EBU’s general assembly in Geneva on Thursday.
However, pressure continued to build in opposition to the decision, with broadcasters from four countries pulling out and critics accusing organizers of double standards, given that Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.
Following the EBU decision, Irish public broadcaster RTE said it would neither participate in nor screen the contest. It said Ireland’s participation “remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.” It also condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza and the denial of access to the international media. More than 200 Palestinian journalists have reportedly been killed since the start of the war.
Slovenian broadcaster RTV said it was withdrawing from the competition “on behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza.” Chairperson Natalija Gorscak said the decision reflected growing public demand to uphold European values of peace and press freedoms, noting that the international media are still banned from Gaza.
She added that Israel’s 2025 Eurovision performance had been overtly political, and contrasted the decision about Israel with the ban on Russia’s participation following the invasion of Ukraine.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS also withdrew from the contest, describing the decision of the EBU as “incompatible with the public values that are essential to us.”
CEO Taco Zimmerman said: “Culture unites, but not at all costs. What happened last year touches our boundaries … Universal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated.”
The EBU did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation in the contest. Instead, member broadcasters voted in favor of new rules for contest voting to prevent governments or other groups from unfairly promoting songs to manipulate the result.
Austria, which is set to host the competition after Viennese singer JJ won this year with “Wasted Love,” supports Israel’s participation. Germany, too, was said to back Israel.
