MOSCOW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor said on Sunday that it had sent Google a letter asking it to stop the promotion of unauthorized (illegal) rallies on its subsidiary YouTube.
"A number of organizations owning YouTube channels acquire advertising tools from YouTube, including push notifications, in order to disseminate information about unauthorized (illegal) mass events, including those aimed at disrupting federal and regional elections," Roskomnadzor said in a statement.
Push notifications are also sent to YouTube users who are not subscribers of the channels of these organizations, it said.
If Google does not respond, Russia will regard it as interference in its sovereign affairs and obstruction of democratic elections, Roskomnadzor said.
Russia's opposition figures have organized rallies in downtown Moscow over the past three Saturdays after they were denied candidacy in the Moscow city council election slated for Sept. 8.
Police detained over 1,600 participants in the unauthorized demonstrations on July 27 and Aug. 3 for various offenses, and then released most of them.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Minister-Counsellor of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Tim Richardson, and presented him with an official protest against the U.S. encouraging the unauthorized rally on Aug. 3 by publishing the rally's route.
