YouTube Service Disruption for Thousands of Users in Russia

Internet monitoring services in Russia announced today that there have been thousands of disruptions in accessing the YouTube video platform amid increasing criticism from Russian authorities towards the platform. They added that thousands of disruptions related to YouTube have been reported in Russia. Users indicated that they can only access YouTube through virtual private networks (VPNs). One user commented on the site, "YouTube isn't working." The loading speed of videos on YouTube has notably slowed down in recent weeks, for which Russian lawmakers have blamed the parent company "Alphabet," although the company denies this.