The Russian ban of YouTube is apparently going into effect April 5, as the Kremlin is warning all videos be moved to the state-run Rutube social media video platform before Tuesday, according to reports.
Sources told the Russia edition of the Slovenia-based media website Spletnik the warnings and recommendations suggest the Russian block on the western video platform YouTube will be activated Tuesday.
Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MSHE) is requiring universities to transfer their YouTube videos to RuTube or other Russian state-run platforms like VKontakte by April 4, according to the report.
The order came in a letter from the MSHE.
Also, Moscow City Hall issued a recommendation to large business in Moscow to close their YouTube channels and transfer their content before Tuesday, according to Spletnik.
Claiming video hosts "are of a terrorist nature and threaten the life and health of Russian citizens," the Russian federal communications agency, Roskomnadzor, has moved to add YouTube to the list of platforms already banned – Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The news came from a Telegram post by RIA Novosti, citing sources close to Roskomnadzor, the agency responsible for monitoring, controlling, and censoring in Russia.
Russia has been working to beef up state-run social media platforms, including Rutube, according Russian Foreign Ministry communications director Maria Zakharova.
"We need to build up our platforms," she said, RIA Novosti reported, noting the social networks need to conform to Russian law and order.
"How long can you wait, call and beg for domestic social networks to finally work?" she continued. "We ask, as people who have been involved in the information environment for many years, we ask and explain."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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