Kremlin blasts YouTube for ‘censorship’ after German RT channels blocked

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.