Bell said that users of video hosting in Russia are already facing problems.
The number of Google Global Cache servers is currently being reduced in Russia. It is through these services that videos on the YouTube platform load quickly and in good quality, reports The Bell.
Since the start of the big war unleashed by Russia in March 2022, Google has paused its entire advertising business in the country and started laying off employees. In May, he decided to bankrupt a Russian legal entity and completely curtail business in the country.
After that, some Russian providers, such as Radiosvyaz and MIPT-Telecom, received disconnection letters from GGC.
Large operators continue to use the remaining GGC servers, but their number in Russia will be reduced from 700 to 450 by the end of 2023.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the bankrupt Google LLC, the Russian “daughter” of the tech giant, owes almost 54 billion rubles to creditors led by the Federal Tax Service. The court stubbornly continues to fine the company for not removing videos with “fake” videos about the army – such fines have already accumulated to the tune of 135 million rubles.
The GGC problem has not yet threatened Russian users with a complete shutdown of YouTube in Russia. Videos will just take longer to load and the quality will deteriorate.
Users are already facing problems: there are complaints online that YouTube is working intermittently or not loading content.
However, experts have not yet linked these problems to sanctions. According to them, the traffic of YouTube and other Google services in Russia continues to grow.
As already written, the Tagansky Court of Moscow considered Google “guilty of an administrative offense”: refusing to remove the real facts about Russia’s war against Ukraine. Google LLC was sentenced to an administrative fine of four million rubles.
Source: korrespondent
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