Belarus’s Midnight Censorship: A Brief YouTube Blackout with Lasting Implications
In Belarus, 2024 began with an improbable act of petty censorship.
From 11:45 to 0:05 , YouTube was inaccessible to non-VPN users in the country. This interruption coincided with the live broadcast of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikanouskaya’s New Year greetings.
This is the first known attempt to block YouTube in Belarus, a reminder of the pervasiveness of the regime’s repression.
Many regimes have blocked access to individual sites (like Radio Svaboda in Belarus) but continued to tolerate access to YouTube because they have benefited from the perpetuation of propagandistic proxy-messaging.
Expect to see more of this targeted censorship in the coming year, not only in Belarus.
