Video-sharing platform YouTube deleted Russian state-backed
broadcaster RT's German-language channels on Tuesday, saying it had violated
its COVID misinformation policy.
"YouTube has always had clear community guidelines that
outline what is allowed on the platform," a YouTube spokesperson said
Initially RT's German channel was issued a strike for
uploading content that breached YouTube's COVID misinformation policy,
resulting in a week-long posting ban.
RT then used a second channel, "Der Fehlende
Part," — which translates to "the missing part" in German — to
evade the suspension.
RT DE [the name for RT in Germany] "tried to circumvent
the enforcement by using another channel, and as a result both channels were
terminated for breaking YouTube Terms of Service," the spokesperson said.
YouTube added that it is against its terms of service to
"use another channel in an attempt to circumvent the suspension of one
channel by activity on another."
How has Russia responded?
Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive agency
responsible for overseeing mass media in the country, sent a letter to Google,
demanding it remove all restrictions from RT DE and DFP channels. It also
called on the company to explain the reasons for the ban's implementation, the
agency's press service said.
Google faces a fine of up to 1 million rubles if it refuses
to unblock RT's YouTube channels, Roskomnadzor said.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT, responded to
the ban in a tweet:
"This is a real media war declared by the state of
Germany to the state of Russia," she said.
She then called for the Russian state to respond by banning
German state media broadcasters.
YouTube is owned by US technology conglomerate Alphabet Inc,
which also owns Google.
What is YouTube's COVID misinformation policy?
YouTube says that it "doesn't allow content about
COVID-19 that poses a serious risk of egregious harm."
Additionally, YouTube says that it does not allow content
that spreads medical misinformation that "contradicts local health
authorities' or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about
COVID-19."
This is limited to WHO or local health authorities' guidance
on treatment, prevention, diagnosis, transmission, social distancing and
self-isolation guidelines as well as anything that contradicts the existence of
COVID-19, YouTube states.