Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Google 'pauses' Russian state media monetization across platforms
ADVERTISEMENT

Washington, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2022
Google on Saturday became the latest US tech giant to prevent Russian state media from earning money on its platforms in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

It follows similar moves by its YouTube subsidiary and Facebook.

"In response to the war in Ukraine, we are pausing Google monetization of Russian state-funded media across our platforms," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

"We're actively monitoring new developments and will take further steps if necessary."

The move was revealed hours after YouTube announced it would block certain Russian media channels from monetizing their videos, among other restrictions.

"In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine, we're taking a number of actions," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.

"Our teams have started to pause the ability for certain channels to monetize on YouTube, including RT's YouTube channels globally," the spokesperson said, referring to the Russian state-funded news outlet.

YouTube channels earn money through ads that appear when users watch their videos.

On Friday, Facebook also said it was banning Russian state media from running ads and monetizing through its platform.

Nations around the globe issued broad sanctions against Russian businesses, banks and officials after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Thursday.

"As always, our teams are continuing to monitor closely for new developments, including evaluating what any new sanctions and export controls may mean for YouTube," the platform's spokesperson said.

In addition to restricting monetization, YouTube added it would limit recommendations to the same channels and is "continuing to actively surface authoritative news content" in Russia- and Ukraine-related search results.

Videos from RT and a number of other channels will also be "restricted" by YouTube, the company said.

At the beginning of February, Germany banned RT, which prompted Russia to close the Moscow bureau of German media outlet Deutsche Welle.

RT, created in 2005 under the name "Russia Today," is regularly accused by Western authorities of contributing to disinformation.

YouTube noted that over the past few days it has removed hundreds of channels, including some for "coordinated deceptive practices," the term the company uses for disinformation.

des/sw/cwl/mtp


GOOGLE

Meta


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
China's Shenzhou-18 mission docks with space station: Xinhua
NASA and Boeing Prepare for Historic Starliner Launch
Private firm advances with new liquid-fuel rocket development

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Airbus net profit soars 28% in first quarter
Extreme heat scorches Southeast Asia, bringing school closures and warnings
BHP bid for Anglo American spotlights surge in copper demand

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
NATO chief says Ukraine can beat Russia; As exhausted troops await resupply
Ahead of feared Rafah invasion, Palestinians mourn bombardment dead
Poland, Lithuania say can help return military-aged men to Ukraine

24/7 News Coverage
'Extreme' climate blamed for world's worst wine harvest in 62 years
The Indian villagers who lost their homes to the sea
Philippine settlement submerged by dam reappears due to drought


All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.