Khinshtein announced that YouTube has slowed down by up to 70% due to the service's policies.

By the end of this week, YouTube download speeds on desktop computers could drop to 40%, and by the end of next week, to 70%, Alexander Khinshtein, HEAD of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, reported on his TELEGRAM channel.

"The 'degradation' of YouTube is a forced step, directed not against Russian users, but against the administration of a foreign resource that still believes it can violate and ignore our laws with impunity," the parliamentarian stated.

According to him, the summer period was chosen for a reason—many people are on vacation and use mobile devices to access the internet during this period. YouTube's "degradation" won't affect them in any way, but the platform itself will see firsthand that the state has moved from persuasion to concrete steps," Khinshtein noted.

He also recalled that Rostelecom has recorded a decline in the quality of video uploads to YouTube. The company previously explained that this was not due to government actions, but rather to the fact thatGOOGLE will not expand or upgrade its equipment in RUSSIA from 2022.

"I emphasize once again: everything that's happening is a consequence of the hosting service's anti-Russian policies, which consistently removes the channels of our public figures (bloggers, journalists, artists) whose views differ from those of the West. Therefore, the future of YouTube in Russia depends solely on it. If the resource's administration doesn't change its policies and start complying with our laws, nothing good awaits it here," the head of the State Duma committee concluded.

Since the military operation began, Google has stopped supplying new servers, and existing ones are gradually failing. Meanwhile, traffic is constantly growing, requiring infrastructure expansion. In June, in a conversation with RBC, Konstantin Kolesov, head of strategic data development for VimpelCom's carrier business unit, noted that YouTube is the number one service in Russia in terms of user traffic.

According to Mediascope, social media accounts for approximately 50% of Russians' internet activity. YouTube leads in reach and time spent across all age groups (39% and 45%, respectively). Russians most frequently search for music (25%), other entertainment (17%), games (10%), TV series (9%), and movies (7%) on YouTube.

In mid-July, Rostelecom warned of YouTube outages in Russia caused by problems with Google equipment. The Kremlin, however, denied any connection between the problem and a possible blocking of the service. "No, there were no such plans. But we know from official statements from our respective companies that this is a problem with the equipment, which, in fact, has not been updated for over two years. There can be no other explanation," said Dmitry Peskov , the Russian president's press secretary . Maksut Shadayev, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, has also repeatedly stated that there is no need to block the video service in Russia.

Following the start of the special operation in Ukraine , YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki stated that the company has no intention of leaving the Russian market in order to "deliver independent news." She stated that because YouTube still operates in Russia, residents can access the  same information as those at the Davos Forum, for example. "We believe it's important to help citizens learn what's going on and have a global perspective," the service's CEO emphasized.