UPDATE: Russian min says OTT regulation bill not applicable to YouTube

(Adds comments from union in paragraphs 6–7)

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (PRIME) -- A bill aimed at regulating work of over-the-top services (OTT), like audio visual services, does not involve services provided by video hosting company YouTube, Russian Deputy Communications Minister Alexei Volin said on Wednesday.

Mass media has reported that a legal committee of the Media Communications Union had warned that You Tube would have to stick to the bill, which seeks to cap foreign capital in audio visual services at 20%, similar to the limit existing in mass media.

“There has been no statement from the union’s legal committee. On the contrary, talks with people from the union and authors of the bill have been always come to leaving YouTube outside the bill. It says that it is not applied to the services with mostly user content,” Volin said.

“It’s true that YouTube has professional content as well, but it mainly deals not with the sale of professional content, like online cinemas do, but with the use of client content. That’s why we know for sure that the bill implies no restrictions for YouTube.”

YouTube, owned by U.S. giant Google, declined to comment.

Anna Lander, a spokeswoman for the Media Communications Union, said the bill does not involve YouTube. “No conclusion of the union’s legal committee with notes to the bill exists,” Lander said.

While working on the bill, experts said the initiative should not be applicable to user content, including YouTube, which was taken into consideration, she said.

The union also wants messengers to restrict massive mailouts, for which connection operators are currently liable. The bill was shunned by the industry, and the union promised to deliberate on it.

The document was submitted to the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, on November 25. To become law, it must be approved by the parliament and signed by the president.

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