Russia: Roskomnadzor demands YouTube owner Google LLC restore access to State Duma channel

On 9 April 2021, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media of Russia, Roskomnadzor, sent a letter to Google LLC, the owner of the platform YouTube, demanding the company restore access to the Duma TV channel of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, the agency asked the company to provide the reasons for the introduction of restrictions and to list the rules that the video recording allegedly violated. Roskomnadzor also claims that the channel removal represents an act of censorship because it violates the right to free distribution of information and unrestricted access to it.