Tech giants take tough line against Russia
Meta, Google, Netflix and Twitter are taking steps to curtail the reach of Russian state media outlets
As Russia continues its assault into Ukrainian territory, the activities of Russian state-run media on social media has emerged as a contentious issue for big tech firms.
While major platforms like Facebook and Twitter have long positioned themselves as beacons of free speech and democratic norms, the conflict in Ukraine is putting those ideals to the test.
Amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tech firms are under mounting pressure to use their influence over the world's most popular social networks, apps and phones to take tough action.
Since Russia's first strike nearly a week ago, Meta, Twitter, Google and other companies have announced a slew of measures such as revoking ads for Russian state media websites, monitoring disinformation and utilising tools to increase the privacy of Ukrainian citizens.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said on Friday that Russian state media outlets will no longer be permitted to run ads or otherwise monetise their content on any Meta-owned site.
The social media giant published a blog post on Saturday explaining the efforts it has taken to keep Ukrainians secure. On of those actions is blocking some Russian accounts within Ukraine, at the request of the government.
"We have been in contact with the government of Ukraine, and at their request we have also restricted access to several accounts in Ukraine, including those belonging to some Russian state media organisations," said Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs.
On Monday, Clegg tweeted that Meta had also banned access to Russian official media sites Sputnik and RT across the EU. He added that the firm has received requests from several governments, as well as the EU, to take additional actions to restrict Russian state-controlled media.
Alphabet Inc's Google imposed similar restrictions a day after Meta's ad ban, prohibiting RT and other channels from receiving money for adverts on their apps, websites, and YouTube videos.
Google's YouTube division said 'extraordinary circumstances' had compelled the platform to pause 'a number of channels' ability to monetise on YouTube.'
Those include several Russian channels linked to recent sanctions, such as those imposed by the EU.
YouTube has apparently banned hundreds of channels and thousands of videos over the last several days, including channels accused of coordinated disinformation.
Google says Russian media is now unable to buy ads through Google Tools or run ads on Google services, such as Search and Gmail.
Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal communications regulator, has asked Google to restore access to Russian media's YouTube channels in Ukrainian territory, which include films produced by Sputnik, RBC and Zvezda TV.
Separately, Google Maps has disabled functions in Ukraine that offer real-time information on users' movements.
Google announced the discontinuation of the live traffic overlay and the Live Busyness feature, which shows how crowded a spot is at any given moment. The company stated that the steps were taken after speaking with local officials to help keep Ukrainians secure.
Likewise, Twitter has halted all advertising in Russia and Ukraine, citing the need to ensure critical public safety information gets elevated and ads do not detract from it.
Twitter's safety team said their top priority was keeping people safe on the platform.
"We're actively monitoring for risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information," it said.
Twitter, which was fined and had its service slowed in Russia last year due to government requests to delete some information, said on Saturday that its network was being restricted for some individuals in Russia.
Meanwhile, Netflix has stated that it would not offer a number of state-run channels in Russia, as required by a new law, amid reports that it may soon be forced to do so.
On Monday, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said that he and Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova had spoken to the chiefs of Google and YouTube, urging them to take additional measures to counter Russian propaganda.
"Freedom of expression does not cover war propaganda. For too long, content from Russia Today and other Russian state media has been amplified by algorithms and proposed as 'recommended content' to people who had never requested it," Breton said.
"War propaganda should never be recommended content - what is more, it should have no place on online platforms at all. I count on the tech industry to take urgent and effective measures to counter disinformation."