Google Bans Ads Shown Beside Content Promoting Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Renowned IT companies like Apple and Google have not turned a blind eye to the terrible events currently taking place in Ukraine, a democratic European country severely attacked by the neighboring state of Russia on February 24, 2022. To show the depth of their outrage at the revolting act of unprovoked aggression and also to demonstrate their complete support for the Ukrainian people, many global tech giants have ceased rendering their services to Russia or limited the access of Russia-based consumers to their products.

Among the most recent measures taken by Google in this regard, there is the decision to forbid ads from running on its sites, applications, and YouTube channels alongside any content that promotes the Russian invasion of Ukraine or assists Russia’s military goals. Google says the move is consistent with the company’s existing policies that prevent advertisements from playing alongside any content that may encourage violence or deny catastrophic events.

While Russia’s FCC analog, Roskomnadzor, has blocked access to Facebook, Instagram, and Google News, claiming these websites deliberately misinterpreted the course of the Russian military operation on Ukraine (that is what they call it inside the country), YouTube still holds strong and remains available to Russian users. Nevertheless, the platform has already received quite a few not-so-subtle warnings threatening a complete and eminent shutdown should YouTube fail to remove “anti-Russian” content, so the popular video sharing service might well be living on borrowed time here.

What do you think of Google’s decision to forbid Russia from purchasing ads to be shown alongside militaristic and aggression-promoting content? Speak up in the comments and share this post with others!