Another attempt at censorship: Ukrainian authorities are trying to persuade YouTube and Spotify not to recommend Russian-language content to Ukrainians

Ukrainian authorities are seeking to reach an agreement with YouTube and the music streaming service Spotify so that these platforms do not recommend Russian-language content to Ukrainian users.

This was announced by State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska.

According to her, this is not censorship but rather “the protection of the cultural space and the future generation of Ukrainians.”

“We adults can take a critical view of imposed products. But children and teenagers are more vulnerable. When Spotify or YouTube automatically offer them Russian songs or TV shows, this is not a choice, it’s manipulation. That’s why Ukraine is looking for ways to cooperate with major platforms — so that content from the aggressor country is not automatically promoted. If you want it, you can find it yourself. But it should not appear as the first recommendation. At the same time, I want to stress: we are protecting all minority languages in Ukraine,” Ivanovska said.

It should be noted that YouTube and Spotify recommend content based on what a user has previously watched or listened to.

Earlier, Ivanovska demanded that the Russian language be removed from Ukraine’s Constitution.