Russia is Google’s Newest Overlord
“Freedom of Speech. That’s a core value of ours.” said Susan Wojcicki, after being asked why YouTube complied with a clear and malicious anti democratic request from the Russian government — something that seemed to clearly violate their aforementioned core value.
A bit of context — Alex Navalny, a Russian political activist and an opposition leader recently had one of his extremely popular YouTube videos taken down, at the request of the Russian government. This has spurred a conversation online, as to how exactly companies need to deal with governments, while respecting and upholding their own principles and values.
The role that Big Tech and social media play in a democracy is extremely underrated. Although most conversations we have are about their negative influence on society, their positive contributions and their potential to enable genuine activism is quite often understated. This means that Big Tech and social media giants have massive responsibilities to fulfill, in order to continue to serve as a positive influence on democracies across the world.
Unfortunately, Google doesn’t seem to have got the memo.
The Russian Federation is a nation that is ‘democratic’, but only on paper. It is an open secret that democratic machinery no longer holds up in the country, so much so that faith in elections is presently at an all time low. In such situations, the people of Russia have no choice but to mobilize on social media, run by ‘liberal’ companies, that care for their users, and always try to hold up their humanitarian values.
This idea — the idea that Western entities may give the Russian people a platform that has been taken away by their government, is one of the main reasons these Western companies and social platforms are so widely adopted all throughout the country. The expectation is that of a free-thinking space, wherein citizens can voice their concerns and opinions against an obviously oppressive government. However, if the recent Alex Navalny incident says anything, it is that companies just don’t care.
If YouTube and other such social platforms had marketed themselves as neutral business actors — ones that actively prioritize their financial interests over their moral ones, then there would be absolutely no problem here. The reason Wojcicki’s statements are disgustingly hypocritical, is because they go against the core values that Google and YouTube have stuck with from the beginning. These social media giants market themselves as all-inclusive, free spaces, which breed creativity and good content. This seems to be done solely in order to attract more users and increase value for their shareholders. But when push comes to shove, these moral commitments are paper thin, and are effortlessly torn in pursuance of massive financial interests.
The Russian government reportedly requested YouTube to take down a massively-viewed video by Alex Navalny, insinuating that their hands were tied, because they were threatened with legal and criminal action if they failed to do so. Whereas this may be true, it still doesn’t excuse YouTube’s lofty moral compass.
For one, it must be noted that YouTube had the perfect opportunity to prove their moral mettle, and set the standard of freedom and creativity that is encouraged on their platform. YouTube could have left the videos up, and engaged in legal proceedings against the Russian Federation, in Russia. They certainly have the funds and political capital to take on the government without being completely blown away — much like most of Russia’s underfunded, undermanned opposition political campaigns. A multinational Big Tech corporate taking on the Russian government would bring countless more eyes to the issue, ensuring that the world recognizes The Russian Federation’s complicity in creating an oppressive State for the Russian people.
Sure, there would definitely be consequences — YouTube might be blocked, and their Russian personnel may have to be evacuated, to prevent any serious jail time. But, the mere action of standing up to Russia would have spoken volumes, and increased YouTube’s goodwill with the Russian people and the world in general.
However, despite reiterating again and again, that Freedom of Speech was a ‘core value’ of YouTube, Wojcicki and her team have fumbled an opportunity to do some good, and may face volumes of criticism for the same.
Navalny’s videos and presence on YouTube creates a rising dissatisfaction against the Russian government, through the exercise of his freedom of speech and expression. This same freedom of speech and expression is held in very high regard by YouTube, only until its financial interests are fulfilled in Russia.
So remember, Big Tech and social media giants love freedom of speech and humanitarian values, as long as you’re flowing in the same direction the money is.
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