YouTube announced on Saturday it would block certain Russian channels from monetizing their videos, among other restrictions, due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine, we're taking a number of actions," a spokesperson for the Google subsidiary said in a statement Saturday.
"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.
Facebook also announced on Friday it would ban 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-Welled.
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.
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02
YouTube Blocks RT, Other Russian Channels From Earning Ad Dollars
YouTube on Saturday barred Russian state-owned media outlet RT and other Russian channels from receiving money for advertisements that run with their videos, similar to a move by Facebook, after the invasion of Ukraine.
Citing "extraordinary circumstances," YouTube said in a statement that it was "pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions." Ad placement is largely controlled by YouTube.
Videos from the affected channels also will come up less often in recommendations, YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shalloon said. He added that RT and several other channels would no longer be accessible in Ukraine due to "a government request."
Ukraine Digital Minister Mikhailov Fedora tweeted earlier on Saturday that he contacted YouTube "to block the propagandist Russian channels such as Russia 24, TASS, RIA Novotel."
RT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. YouTube did not name the other channels it had restricted.
For years, lawmakers and some users have called on YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc's Google, to take greater action against channels with ties to the Russian government out of concern that they spread misinformation and should not profit from that.
Russia received an estimated $7 million to $32 million over the two-year period ended December 2018 from ads across 26 YouTube channels it backed, digital researcher Omelas told Reuters at the time.
YouTube previously has said that it does not treat state-funded media channels that comply with its rules any differently than other channels when it comes to sharing ad revenue.
Meta Platforms Inc, owner of Facebook, on Friday barred Russian state media from running ads or generating revenue from ads on its services anywhere in the world.
03
YouTube demonetizes Russia’s state-owned network RT after plea from Ukraine’s digital minister
YouTube has barred Russian state-owned network RT from receiving money from ads running in its videos, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mikhailov Fedora said Saturday afternoon.
“YouTube has disabled the monetization of Russia Today channels,” he tweeted.
Fedora, who also serves as the country’s minister of digital transformation, had asked chief executives of the major U.S. tech companies to limit their service to Russia, in an effort to put pressure on Vladimir Putin, who ordered military forces to invade Ukraine earlier this week.
“We intend to help Russians and the world to know the truth,” he tweeted early on Saturday. “I’ve contacted @YouTube to block the propagandist Russian channels — such as Russia 24, TASS, RIA Novotel. If they are afraid of speaking the truth, so we should stop this flow of poisonous lies,” he added.
“Our goal is not to block the informational sources for Russians, but to engage youth, proactive and smart people,” he wrote in a follow-up email.
According to Reuters, YouTube confirmed on Saturday that it had paused “a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions,” citing “extraordinary circumstances.”
YouTube did not immediately respond when the Daily News reached out for comment.
(File) YouTube demonetizes Russia’s state-owned network RT after a plea from Ukraine’s digital minister. (Shutterstock)
Late on Friday, the head of security policy at Meta, Nathaniel Bleacher, said in a statement that “we are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world. We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend.”
Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp among other subsidiaries.
Twitter has also announced measures to stop the spreading of misinformation. “We’re actively monitoring for risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information,” the microblogging network said.
On Saturday, Fedora announced that “Twitter just made the decision to block Russians the opportunity to register new accounts in Russian Federation.”
Fedora also wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking the company “to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the package of US government sanctions!” I recommend this Cross https://bit.ly/3ourrTR
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