Russia's watchdog demands Google to unblock parliament's channel

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia’s watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded from Google to unblock the DumaTV channel on YouTube video hosting, according to an official statement on Saturday.

“Roskomnadzor demanded from the American company Google LLC, which owns the Internet service YouTube, immediately restore access to the channel of the State Duma of the Russian Federation DumaTV on the video hosting and explain the reason for the introduction of such restrictions,” Roskomnadzor said in a statement on its official website.

The statement noted that Google’s decision prevents free distribution of the information and free access to it.

DumaTV is an autonomous non-profit organization, which is completely dedicated to the work of the lower house of the parliament.

According to the channel, it received a notification from Google, saying the decision to block the channel was made without the possibility of restoring because of the Western sanctions.