Digital rights group Access Now, along with over 20 Russian and international civil society organizations, has petitioned YouTube and its parent company Google to halt their cooperation with the Kremlin’s censorship efforts. The call to action was made public in an open letter on Tuesday. The groups demand that YouTube and Google scrutinize all blocking orders to ensure they align with international human rights standards and contest any that unnecessarily restrict access to protected expression.
Since February 2024, YouTube has blocked several anti-war videos on military service evasion at the behest of Russian authorities. Among those affected were the human rights organization ‘Roskomsvoboda’ and the independent Russian TV channel TV Rain. The OVD-info human rights project channel, ‘What Now?’ faced the threat of blockage as well. Following substantial media backlash from Russian independent outlets, YouTube unblocked at least three previously censored videos on May 21, 2024, although they remain inaccessible through YouTube’s search engine within Russia.
There has been a continuous struggle between tech firms and the Russian government over the past few years. In late 2021, both Google and Meta were fined for alleged breaches of Russian law. Amid significant penalties and an increasingly hostile environment, Google declared the bankruptcy of its Russian subsidiary in 2022, ceasing all monetization and advertising services in the country. Regardless of these challenges, YouTube remains a vital platform for independent Russian publishers, media, bloggers, and public organizations, providing a rare outlet for free expression in a heavily censored landscape.
The open letter references the European Court of Human Rights’ findings that Russian legal norms restricting information access are often vague and in conflict with the European Convention on Human Rights. Cases such as “Kablis v. Russia,” “Engels v. Russia,” and “Flavus, Kharitonov, Bulgakov v. Russia” illustrate these issues. Additionally, the UN Human Rights Committee’s 2022 observations criticized Russia’s extensive internet blocking and called for the repeal of laws that excessively restrict freedom of expression.
Notable signatories of the letter include Access Now, Roskomsvoboda, OVD-Info, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), among others.
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