Agency Report

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.