YouTube will not go away from Russia – RBC

Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

YouTube may leave Russia, reported “Kommersant”. The newspaper referred to the conclusion lawyers Mediacommunications Union that say about popadenii service under the new restrictions for online cinemas. In the ISS say that this conclusion did not give

Wednesday, November 30, “Kommersant” reported that the bill limiting a share of 20% foreign participation in companies — organizers of audiovisual services could force YouTube to leave Russia. Such amendments to several laws, including “On information, information technologies and protection of information”, November 25, the state Duma deputies Andrei Lugovoi and Samail sarailiev. Restrictions apply to services with a daily audience of more than 100 thousand users across Russia within a month, or more than 20 thousand users in one entity. Audiovisual services such attendance should be included in a special register.

While the amendments do not apply to services, providing access mainly to audiovisual products placed by Internet users, is specified in the bill. The order and criteria of definition of such products shall be approved by Roskomnadzor.

However, the source of “Kommersant” familiar with the drafting of the bill, argues that the legal Committee Mediacommunications Union (ISS), which initially came up with the idea to restrict foreign ownership of online-cinemas and other audiovisual services, arguing that YouTube can still fall under the restrictions of the bill, because it puts not only the user but also the professional content and “methods for separation one from the other is not.” To fulfill the requirement of the law, YouTube will have to create additional infrastructure in Russia or go to overseas sites, which will lead to a sharp increase in foreign exchange costs of all operators and deterioration in the quality of services, writes “Kommersant”.

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He ISS later denied this information. The statement of the Union received RBC States that “no conclusion of the legal Committee with comments on the bill does not exist.” “Services that represent user content, such as YouTube, social networks, search engines, under the regulation do not fall”, — stated in the message.

As explained RBC representative of the Union, the journalists of “Kommersant” were “not the conclusion of the legal Committee of the Union, and the opinion of its individual members”. Who exactly in the ISS did not specify. The ISS consists of large companies in the telecommunications industry and media: MTS, “VimpelCom”, “daughter” “the Megaphone” MegaLabs “Gazprom-Media”, national media group, CTC Media and other.

the Ministry also said that the draft regulation does not apply to YouTube.

the representative of the Russian office of Google (which owns YouTube) declined to comment on whether the company sees a threat to the service introduced in the state Duma the draft law.