Rybkagate threatens blocking of Youtube and Instagram in Russia

Crime Russia reports that YouTube and Instagram are facing possible blocking as ’14 photos from Instagram of Rybka and video published on YouTube entered the register of prohibited information based on the decision of the court and Roskomnadzor’. Hannah Levintova reports in Mother Jones that Russia is trying to bury the video. Levintova says that the video, published by Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, links Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko of facilitating the alleged link between the Kremlin, Oleg Deripaska, and the Trump campaign. A court injunction was issued, requiring takedown of six video and 14 Instagram posts, finding that the posts violated Deripaska’s right to privacy. According to the BBC, ‘If neither Mr Navalny nor the US tech firms involved delete or otherwise block local access to the imagery by the end of the day, then Russia’s ISPs will be required to take action themselves.’ The BBC goes on to quote a spokeswoman for the Russian Association for Electronic Communications as saying ‘It’s impossible for internet providers to block certain pages on Instagram and YouTube.’ This could result in blocking local access to the social networks.