* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

    Micro wrestling coming to NE Ohio – Cleveland.com

    Get Ready, NE Ohio: Micro Wrestling Is Making Its Exciting Debut!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

    Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    AI’s race in the dark with China – Axios

    The High-Stakes AI Race: Innovation and Competition in the Shadows

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

    Micro wrestling coming to NE Ohio – Cleveland.com

    Get Ready, NE Ohio: Micro Wrestling Is Making Its Exciting Debut!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

    Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    AI’s race in the dark with China – Axios

    The High-Stakes AI Race: Innovation and Competition in the Shadows

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

YouTube must stop helping Russia censor free speech, experts say

May 30, 2024
in Technology
YouTube must stop helping Russia censor free speech, experts say
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

 In this photo illustration the YouTube logo is displayed on a smartphone and a red alerting word

(Image credit: Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

YouTube must protect free speech in Russia and “take clear and decisive action” against authorities blocking orders.

This is the message that over 20 local and international civil society organizations shared via an open letter on Monday, May 28, 2024 (see tweet below). This comes amid a worrying spike in censorship across the platform, with the Russian censor body Roskomnadzor targeting several human rights YouTube channels and their content.

While the best VPN services may still help Russians bypass some restrictions, YouTube’s geoblocking policy and Russian law make this circumvention software less reliable, experts told me. This is why the signatories urge YouTube and its parent company Google to challenge the Roskomnadzor’s requests that go against international human rights standards with all available legal means.

“We look forward to your consideration of this issue and are committed to dialogue and collaboration to find solutions that benefit the entire YouTube community,” wrote the organizations, which include Access Now, Roskomsvoboda, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) among others.

RSF, @accessnow and several organisations urge @Youtube not to help #Russia censor independent media channels threatened with blocking by the platform for non-compliance with obligations imposed by their iniquitous status as foreign agents.https://t.co/1hBIUoWETZMay 28, 2024

The stakes are especially high considering that, as Natalia Krapiva, Senior Tech Legal Counsel at Access Now, put it, YouTube is one of the most influential platforms for independent information in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This means, she argues, that Google has “a moral duty to resist unjust laws that make it complicit in human rights violations.”

It looks like the Big Tech giant is failing to fulfill this moral duty, though. Commenting on this, Sarkis Darbinyan, cyber lawyer and Head of Roskomvosvoboda’s legal practice, describes YouTube’s behavior in Russia as duplicitous. 

The Google-owned company refused to do business in the country and closed down its Moscow office. On the other hand, though, it is still obeying Russian censors’ orders.

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

“Helping Roskomnadzor to silence anti-war voices directed to Russians, and to promote censorship in the country, seems the height of hypocrisy given the values that the company itself demonstrates and defends,” Darbinyan told me. “We’d like to believe they just haven’t figured it out yet—and that is why we are asking the giant to hear us.” 

YouTube censorship in Russia is on the rise

Let’s look at some data. Since February 2024, YouTube has blocked several videos about military service evasion in Russia and anti-war sentiments, including content from the human rights channels “Dozor in Volgograd” (Watch in Volgograd) and “Shkola Prizivnika” (Conscript school). Other human rights channels, including those of Roskomsvoboda and OVD-Info (two of the signatories), have also been notified of blocking threats.

These incidents have been intensifying lately because, Darbinyan told me, Russian legislators have significantly expanded the list of prohibited content over the last couple of years.

Russia VPN services came on the radar as well. Starting in March, a new law criminalizes the spread of information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions. This means that authorities have now the right to censor VPN tutorials and similar content.

Did you know?

Shape of Russia filled with Russian flag-colored internet codes on a black hacking background

(Image credit: Getty Images)

On May 21, 2024, YouTube unblocked at least three of the aforementioned censored videos amid increasing pressure among Russian independent media. Despite this, experts argue that these videos “are still hidden from those who try to search for them in Russia.”

That’s because a VPN, short for virtual private network, can be used to bypass online geo-restrictions by spoofing your IP address. At the same time, it also encrypts internet connections to boost user anonymity online.

“[The new law’s] impact is already being felt,” Darbinyan told me, adding that this type of information keeps disappearing from the Russian Internet (RuNet) with many website administrators deleting everything themselves for fear of being blocked. 

As mentioned, the Roskomsvoboda channel itself has also been hit by a request for removal from YouTube on such a video (see the video in Russian here). The team refused to comply and the video is still available at the time of writing.

All this is pretty serious. VPNs are crucial in Russia as they have the power to reconnect a growing splinter RuNet, Darbinyan explained. On one side, there’s the highly restricted web under the control of Roskomnadzor and state companies. On the other, the free internet that journalists and bloggers in exile are trying to build. VPNs act then as smaller bridges between the two webs.

This is the reason why the Kremlin has increasingly been trying to block their usage over the years. Darbinyan confirmed that Roskomnadzor continues its massive hunt for VPN services to this day, in fact. 

“These bridges are getting smaller and less stable,” he told me, adding that also YouTube’s geoblocking policy is not very transparent and clear in this part either.

The role of Big Tech 

So, what can YouTube, Google, and ultimately any foreign Big Tech firm do to make a difference here?

According to Darbinyan, YouTube should start by stopping the practice of shadow-blocking content at the Russian authorities’ request. This activity aims to exclude certain videos from the algorithm’s recommendations so that users cannot find them. He also believes that blocking orders coming from countries notorious for curbing citizens’ freedoms should be carefully analyzed for compliance with international law.

“Companies can no longer say it’s none of their business, that they are following the laws of the country and trying to be law-abiding,” said Darbinyan. “We dare to remind Big Tech that international soft law recommends that private companies should avoid contributing to adverse human rights impacts as part of their operations. 

“And of course, it should be remembered that human rights impact assessment is the first thing Big Tech should think about when building their global policies.”

Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up. She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to [email protected]

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : TechRadar – https://www.techradar.com/vpn/youtube-must-stop-helping-russia-censor-free-speech-experts-say

Tags: HelpingtechnologyYouTube
Previous Post

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be released on PS4 and Xbox One, new leak suggests

Next Post

Netflix is teaming up with Microsoft and Mojang to craft a Minecraft animated show, and the timing couldn’t be worse

Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

July 31, 2025
Morning Buzz: Playfly Sports takes over media sales for three MLB teams – Sports Business Journal

Playfly Sports Scores Big with Media Sales Deal for Three MLB Teams

July 31, 2025
New DNA Analysis Allows Scientists To Identify Specific Animals by Their Feces – Smithsonian Institution

Breakthrough DNA Analysis Enables Scientists to Identify Animals Just from Their Feces

July 31, 2025
Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty – Science News

Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty – Science News

July 31, 2025
Be Like Blippi Week – Adventure Science Center

Join the Fun: Be Like Blippi Week at Adventure Science Center!

July 31, 2025
Martha Stewart questions Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand: ‘Hope she knows what she’s talking about’ – Page Six

Martha Stewart Raises Eyebrows Over Meghan Markle’s Lifestyle Brand: “Hope She Knows What She’s Talking About

July 31, 2025
Trump Executive Order Ends De Minimis Exemption for Rest of World – The New York Times

Trump Executive Order Ends De Minimis Exemption for Rest of World – The New York Times

July 31, 2025
Mexico’s economy grew 0.7% in Q2, outpacing analysts’ forecasts – Mexico News Daily

Mexico’s economy grew 0.7% in Q2, outpacing analysts’ forecasts – Mexico News Daily

July 31, 2025
Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

July 31, 2025
Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza, WHO warns – World Health Organization (WHO)

Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza, WHO warns – World Health Organization (WHO)

July 31, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (747)
  • Economy (772)
  • Entertainment (21,652)
  • General (16,211)
  • Health (9,809)
  • Lifestyle (780)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (774)
  • Politics (781)
  • Science (15,985)
  • Sports (21,269)
  • Technology (15,751)
  • World (755)

Recent News

Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

Hungary to Gain Access to Cutting-Edge US Nuclear Technology – Hungarian Conservative

July 31, 2025
Morning Buzz: Playfly Sports takes over media sales for three MLB teams – Sports Business Journal

Playfly Sports Scores Big with Media Sales Deal for Three MLB Teams

July 31, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version