Belarus To Launch Local YouTube Channel – Reportedly Helped By Austrian Firm

Leaked documents showed that Belarus’s proposed government video hosting platform, which is scheduled to launch on Sept. 12, was developed in collaboration with an Austrian telecommunications company.

According to the Belarusian news agency BelTA, the Deputy Head of the Administration of Belarus Vladimir Pertsov announced the plan in late August at a meeting with the President of Belarus Alexandr Lukashenko.

“Running a video on videobel.by. This is our first [over-the-top] The OTT platform will host a variety of programs and features. And the off-air jobs of video content creators. If you like, this is a weak analog, but it is the first step in creating a Belarusian YouTube,” Pertsov said.

Pertsov said the site will host broadcasts from Belarusian TV channels in addition to user-generated content, as well as news tools from BELTA on its main page.

The Belarusian opposition news agency Zerkalo reported on Monday, citing leaked documents obtained by the local cyber group Cyberpartisans, that the project began in early 2023 at the behest of Lukashenko due to the removal of YouTube about the propaganda of Minsk state.

The documents said that the Belarusian subsidiary of Austria’s A1 Telekom was involved in the development, and negotiations started in the summer of 2023.

“The process of developing a video streaming service for national TV channels, which Cyberpartisans gained access to, includes the Belarusian subsidiary of the Austrian provider A1. According to the letters working of the BELTA staff, negotiations on the joint implementation of the project are ongoing from the beginning of the summer of 2023,” reported Zerkalo.

The company’s website said it was “the second largest private equity firm, [information and communications technology] ICT and information service provider in Belarus. ”

An A1 Group report released in August 2023, which described Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “conflict in Ukraine,” said the company was complying with Western sanctions, although it is possible that the Belarusian facility went We do not maintain business with authorized organizations.

“The Compliance Team monitors the sanctions and works closely with the affected units within Group A1 to ensure compliance. None of the A1Group companies – except for A1 Belarus – have been found to have direct business relations with legal entities authorized by the EU,” he said.

It said that Western sanctions on Belarus due to the country’s participation in the Russian invasion have significantly affected the supply chain, but the company has worked around the issues.

“Foreign sanctions have led to short-term delays in the supply of hardware, software and services to Belarus, but without jeopardizing operations – and therefore our service to unauthorized individuals and companies,” the report reads.

“While the sanctions imposed did not pose an immediate threat to business operations, sales and key suppliers were disrupted and A1 Belarus focused on re-establishing supply under the new telco-specific penalties and regulations.”

Austria has long been questioned by critics about its dealings with Russia after the 2022 attack, with an unnamed EU official alleging in 2023 that Vienna’s poor espionage system had allowed Russian spies to thrive in the heart of Europe.