The daily audience of YouTube video hosting users in Russia from August to November 2024 decreased by 11% – from 52 to 46 million people. The reason for this was large-scale technical glitches that affected the platform on all devices and web browsers. The problems were caused by the cessation of modernization of equipment used in Russia by Google.
Image source: Azamat E / Unsplash
YouTube outages began on August 1, 2024. The problems affected not only YouTube mobile applications for iOS and Android, but also the operation of the service in web browsers. Russian users complained about the inability to download and play videos, which significantly reduced the convenience and attractiveness of video hosting, which became an obstacle to its daily use.
According to a statement from the press service of PJSC Rostelecom, problems with YouTube are related to outdated Google equipment. In particular, the Google Global Cache (GGC) system, which speeds up data loading, stopped being updated in Russia back in 2022. These technical limitations led to disruptions in the exchange of traffic between telecom operators, which directly affected the speed and stability of video hosting in Russia. This situation, according to experts, was predictable.
Interestingly, back on July 12, 2024, Rostelecom warned about possible problems associated with loading data through the GGC system. Company representatives emphasize that responsibility for technical difficulties lies with Google Corporation (owner of the YouTube video hosting service), which has stopped upgrading equipment and supporting its infrastructure in Russia since 2022. These actions by Google effectively eliminated the possibility of fixing problems at the level of local telecom operators.
Technical limitations have become just one of the problems of Russian YouTube users. In March 2022, Google disabled Premium subscriptions for users from Russia and stopped monetizing content for domestic authors. During the same period, contextual advertising was blocked both in the search engine and on the YouTube platform. These measures have significantly limited earnings opportunities for Russian content creators, which has had a negative impact on the local video and advertising ecosystem.
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