State Duma deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Alexey Didenko said that Google, Android and iOS will soon be blocked in Russia.
"This is not going to happen on our initiative. Civil servants and officials have long been prohibited from using these platforms, especially those who have access to confidential information. That was the first message meaning you need to switch to other platforms," Alexey Didenko told RuNews24 website.
The MP does not see anything tragic in such an initiative. Didenko referred to what happened to Netflix in Russia. The streaming platform decided to suspend operations in Russia in March 2022. Many Russians expressed their dissatisfaction at the time, but everyone calmed down later.
"We are simply facing restrictions now, and we will be forced to introduce them too. This is obvious,” he explained.
Ekaterina Mizulina, the head of the League for Safe Internet, responded to Alexey Didenko's statement.
"This is too much. What should we use if most Russians have Android smartphones?" Ekaterina Mizulina wrote on her Telegram channel.
Later, in a conversation with other media outlets, Didenko explained that his words were just an assumption.
"I have no knowledge of any solution, but there is such a prospect (…). That is, there is no need to pass any law. If they violate, they will get certain sanctions in return," the deputy explained, noting that "the prospect is obvious."
Last week, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, Alexander Khinshtein, announced that YouTube would be slowed down in Russia. He later indicated that the American video hosting service could not pay for the services of Russian data centers.
According to him, YouTube's download speed dropped by 40 percent and may further decline by 70 percent.
Google later commented on the operation of YouTube service in Russia.
"We are aware of reports that some people are unable to access YouTube in Russia. This is not the result of any technical issues or actions on our part," the corporation said.