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| Russia wants to release a version of the TikTok platform |
Russia appears to be developing a social media video-sharing platform TikTok-style from the Chinese company ByteDance.
This information is based on a statement made by Alexander Zarov, General Manager of Gazprom Media.
Gazprom Media, the country's leading media company backed by the state-run energy giant, Gazprom, plans to launch a short video-sharing app within two years.
The Kommersant Business Daily quoted Zaroff as saying that the holding company had bought a service called Ya Molodets.
Zaroff explained that the app was developed with support from Innopraktika, an organization led by (Katrina Tikhonova) and allegedly one of the daughters of President (Vladimir Putin) Vladimir Putin.
Gazprom Media is using the project software to accelerate the creation of new video services for Russian bloggers.
The app supports short vertical video sharing, similar to the Chinese social media platform Tik Tok.
Zarov took over Gazprom Media after leaving the head of the Russian Information Guard (Roskomnadzor) earlier this year, which is why he did not ban Telegram intelligence service.
Gazprom Media is one of the leading media organizations in Russia and owns some of the most watched TV channels and a number of radio stations.
Zarov announced earlier this month that Gazprom Media is preparing to launch two YouTube-like websites over the next two years.
According to reports, one of them is an upgraded version of the Rutube streaming service. The platform is intended for Russian users. Gazprom acquired the platform in 2008.
"For about a year, the company has been updating to target its YouTube tools," Zaroff said.
In recent years, YouTube has become an increasingly popular platform for Russian youth. Some of the most viewed channels get tens of millions of views.
It has also become an independent source of information and can replace the major TV channels usually controlled by the state.
The Russian authorities tightened their control over the Russian part of the Internet, under the pretext of combating extremism on the Internet.
The lower house of parliament passed laws earlier, and if found guilty of censorship and discrimination, he could block internet platforms, including YouTube.