Putin Calls Google A US Political Tool

Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: x @BowesChay)

JAKARTA Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday 19 December accused Alphabet Inc, Google's parent company, of being a tool used by the United States government to achieve political goals. Putin also blamed YouTube for the slow pace of access to the video platform in Russia.

Over the past few years, Google and other foreign technology companies have faced pressure from the Russian government over the content they distribute. Although Moscow has blocked social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, YouTube is still accessible to around 50 million Russians every day.

Critics believe that the disruption to YouTube was deliberately carried out by authorities to limit the access of Russian citizens to content that criticizes Putin and his government. However, Russia denies the allegations, saying the matter was caused by Google's failure to improve its technical equipment. This statement was denied by Google and technology experts.

In an annual question and answer session with Russian citizens, Putin reiterated Moscow's stance that Google has created problems for itself by reducing spending and supply of relevant equipment in Russia.

"In addition, YouTube and Google must comply with our laws, avoid any form of fraud on the internet, and most importantly, should not abuse the internet to achieve their government's political goals," Putin said.

Google has not yet provided an official response to the statement. In August, YouTube stated that it was aware of reports from users in Russia experiencing difficulties accessing the platform, but confirmed that the matter was not caused by the actions or technical issues of their side.

Putin also highlighted the growth of competitions from domestic platforms such as VK Video managed by state companies VK, RuTube, and Telegram founded by Pavel Durov. However, these platforms have not been able to compete with YouTube's dominance in the video hosting market.

Since the war in Ukraine began, YouTube has blocked more than 1,000 YouTube channels, including the Russian government-backed media, and more than 5.5 million videos. The Kremlin hopes that major lawsuits filed against Google could force the company to change its stance.