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Russia demands Google restore access to its media YouTube channels in Ukraine
- dekhn 5y agorussia wants youtube to show russian media in ukraine to push propaganda. Without it they will have a lot harder time controlling their reality distortion field.
- leaflets2 5y agoCorrection: Putin and his men, wants YouTube so they can push propaganda to the people in Russia. The people in Ukraine, though, are already aware of Putin bombing them, with or without YouTube.
- reaperducer 5y ago"Russia's state communications regulator on Sunday said it had written to Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and demanded that access to Russian media's YouTube channels be restored on Ukrainian territory." Go ahead and demand away. Have fun with that. Get in line behind all of the other people who have grievances against Google. I'm sure (or at least I hope) governments have some super-secret way of getting Big G's attention. But I entertain a vision of someone in the Russian government futilely Googling "Google customer service phone number." Showing results for "GAZPROM customer service phone number"
- belter 5y agoGoogle Customer Support versus pissed off customer with Nuclear Weapons...My money is on Google Customer Support.
- salawat 5y agoIf you have nuclear weapons, please press 9. Before servicing your request, we'll need you to enter your stand down code, followed by the pound sign. LOOP
- sschueller 5y agoGoogle should reply: "Pull out of Ukraine and we will think about it"
- spacemanmatt 5y agoIf they subscribed to one of Google's premium services (e.g. Google Fi or Fiber) then they could at least get a human on the phone.
- snapetom 5y agoUm, You have a certain point, but I don't think Google's customer service is the issue here...
- belter 5y agoThe complete lack of any kind of human based response to any kind of request is the issue. I think a Tank Division at their door, would be asked to provide their real phone number and solve a captcha before going through the gates...
- johnnylambada 5y agoThis comment reminded me of one of my favorite moments from the movie blazing saddles: https://youtu.be/SbWg-mozGsU https://youtu.be/SbWg-mozGsU
- jacquesm 5y agoThey can demand whatever they want, as long as they are still in Ukraine I'm all for their access to Youtube and other social media channels to be severely curtailed: one way only.
- bastawhiz 5y agoHave they tried taking out an ad in the New York Times or asking nicely on HN? There's a certain art to getting your Google account back.
- megous 5y agoAnd now that they are banned in a whole of EU, too.
- deadalus 5y agoYoutube Alternatives : Centralized : Dailymotion, Bitchute, Rumble, DTube, Vimeo, Vidlii, DLive, Triller Decentralized : Odysee(LBRY), Peertube
- surajrmal 5y agoAlternatives don't matter if the users you want to reach aren't using them.
- rad_gruchalski 5y agoTough luck. RT and Sputnik are now banned in the EU.
- everybodyknows 5y agoObservation of the enemy's propaganda is an essential portal for information. Unfortunately, the great mass of any viewing public lacks the necessary filtering skills to extract useful signal from the torrent of disinformation. So we're back to blanket censorship.
- rad_gruchalski 5y agoI would assume that those who can read it, have their ways to watch it.
- ralfn 5y agoThe YouTube streams are up. It's not that difficult. It's like a weird alternative reality Fox News.
- fulvioterzapi 5y agoBoth websites still work for me.
- Klaster_1 5y agoHow come the same channels aren't getting banned in Russia too? What are the downsides?
- krono 5y agoThese are multinationals with many employees, interests, and assets located worldwide, but also much of their future growth potential. Most are even ran by foreign CEOs. So playing Googl.. sorry, playing devil's advocate: What are the upsides?
- coffeefirst 5y agoHaving principles is considered by some to be an upside.
- krono 5y agoYes, and I've learned that mine wildly differ from those of Putin's. Now that's two people, Microsoft nearly 200k, McDonald's closing in on 2 million. They're not the Borg Collective, and whether you like it or not, they're no longer just American.
- okareaman 5y agoConsidering the Russian government is a criminal enterprise at this point, the rule is that you don't negotiate with criminals.
- ukraineally 5y agoUnfortunately, there are connectivity issues detected in your region.
- Doctor_Fegg 5y agoI dearly hope Google's response starts with the phrase "Dear Russian warship".
- kleene_op 5y agoIn the face of all those western entities distancing themselves from Russia, I can't fathom a world where invading Ukraine was worth it for Putin.
- akomtu 5y agoGoogle should respond with an standard email: "We've detected suspicious activity from your account in Ukraine and had to temporarily suspend it. Please upload a copy of your driver license, your phone number and your vaccination card to verify your identity. We're sincerely sorry for the inconvenice."
- MichaelZuo 5y agoIs it possible for Moscow to seize all of Alphabet’s assets in Russia?
- ProgramePoop23 5y agoFuck Putin.
- musicale 5y agoDear Sergei (and Sundar), I'm sure you wouldn't want anything to happen to your nice friends, relatives, and Google/Alphabet employees. I can assure you that they will remain completely safe, particularly if they are in Russia. If you could put in a good word to restore our propaganda channels, it would be greatly appreciated. -Vladimir
- sam_goody 5y agoSergei can foot enough cash to finance the entire war. Together with Google he has far more resources than that. He and Larry have control over Google with an interesting incorporation clause that allows them to basically override the board and make decisions for reasons other than money. AFAIK, if he got mad enough (say, something happened to his family) Google can volunteer to help help Ukraine procure weapons (providing a channel), fund them [with or without private cash from the founders], and go all in. Pepsi was once the 6th largest military in the world, and they are a fraction of Google in clout, cash, and connections. (And there is precedent - Rockerfeller once told FDR that he could fund an army larger than FDR's, in the infamous Wall Street Putsch) He also is friends with Sundar, Elon and Richard etc. The clique of the "super rich" have some 70% of all U.S. money, and over 10% of all the world's wealth. While I don't see that happening, this is war. Nothing should be taken off the table. (Not comparable, but an example: no one expected BP to walk away from a 25B deal till yesterday.) EDIT: Aside for that, Goog has engineers that would have a field day hacking into Russian infrastructure, government and military. Especially considering that they can basically MITM anything; between their DNS, their certs, Android, Chrome, the fact that all their software has a silent process always running and able to apply updates, etc. In addition, any of these steps would be loudly applauded, and he could probably parley that into government cash, goodwill, favors etc. In fact, the more I think about it, the less far fetched this sounds. I highly doubt Putin will risk starting up with Brinn.
- utucuro 5y agoThe Pepsi armada was the result of one of the trades with the Soviet Union. Since the Soviets didn't have internationally valid currency, they paid Pepsi with 20 ships... Pepsi did not operate them, they sold them for scrap. Interestingly, the previous trade had Pepsi selling Stolichnaya vodka in the US...