For one, perhaps because Telegram does not take sides and does not take down Russian content.
Perhaps because they had some agreement in the end, perhaps because they simply couldn't.
In any case, it is now vital information infrastructure in ways YouTube isn't.
Even though YouTube definitelt is critical. It's not just an amusement source.
> For one, perhaps because Telegram does not take sides and does not take down Russian content.
it does take sides, FSB can take down channels that are too concerning for them, but for the most of it they are pleased with just monitoring and getting user data they need
I can't remember a single instance where Tg will take down a channel that is too concerning for FSB.
After all, Telegram is a worldwide platform and you can directly read Ukrainian news feeds there if you wish so. What would a concerning channel make compared to that?
YouTube was constantly blocking Russian channels and striking down videos, whereas I only remember Telegram banning a single channel in three years, due to a direct US sanctions hit.
As the vote kicked off on September 17, the Smart Voting app disappeared from the Apple and Google online stores
Seems no special treatment though? Telegram always experiences double standards, imo. If faang does it, then it’s following the sovereign law. If telegram does it, it bends to FSB requests. Telegram still works in russia - it came to “some agreement”. Whatsapp never ever questioned there - it’s a secure end-to-end messenger.
> In any case, it is now vital information infrastructure in ways YouTube isn't.
Potentially, but then there is still the risk of what the government knows. Russian citizens living in the West who donated to Ukrainian organizations are at risk if they travel to Russia. If telegram is surveyed by the Russian state that turns into a problem quickly.
It can even go both ways: nothing prevents Telegram to be blocked in Russia, as well as being used to harvest potentially life threatening info about Russian citizens at the same time.
Same for YouTube. If it gets blocked for good, does not mean you can't go to jail for speaking out while on YouTube.
The obvious take away at the moment is to think twice what you write anywhere in the Internet, as well as to avoid doing things with such dire consequences, or at least not bragging about them anywhere on the net.