Deutsche Welle responded to the threat of sanctions in Russia because of YouTube and RT

The German media holding Deutsche Welle said they were not involved in the dispute between the Russian TV channel RT, YouTube and Google, and all issues should be resolved directly by the parties to the conflict. This is how Deutsche Welle commented on the statement by Vasily Piskarev, chairman of the State Duma commission to investigate foreign interference in internal affairs, who stated the need to “take action” against the German broadcaster after blocking German-language RT channels on YouTube.

“From our point of view, it is obvious that the problem is in the relationship between RT and the American Internet service provider. We do not understand why the German media are mentioned in this context, ”said Christoph Humpelt, a representative of the media holding, to RBC.

On the eve of YouTube removed two channels of the German division of the TV channel RT - RT DE and Der Fehlende Part (DFP). RT DE, according to the TV channel, was among the top five in terms of views on YouTube among the German-language media, it had about 600 thousand subscribers. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan called this an act of a “media war” that Berlin declared to Moscow, and added that she was waiting for the Russian authorities to ban the German publication Deutsche Welle and “other German media”, as well as to close the correspondent offices of the German ARD and ZDF. “I’m already silent about the sanctions against YouTube itself,” she said.

Google told RBC that the German RT YouTube channels were removed due to content that violated the rules on informing about the COVID-19 pandemic . The corporation said it issued a warning to RT DE for publishing "false medical information," which led to the suspension of the ability to post videos. During the suspension, the channel owners attempted to circumvent the restrictions through another channel. As a result, both accounts were closed for violating YouTube's terms of use.

The Russian authorities came out in defense of the RT channel. Roskomnadzor shortly after blocking the channels threatened Google with a fine of 1 million rubles if they were not restored. Roskomnadzor explained the threat by saying that, according to its version, the removal of German-language RT channels "violates the rights of Russians on the Web, including censorship of Russian media." Later, the RKN said that YouTube could be blocked in Russia.