Moscow will ban YouTube if it no longer has Russian channels
Russia's State Duma (parliament) announced Monday that YouTube will be banned if it no longer has Russian channels on its site.
This came in response to YouTube's announcement to ban Russian-funded media worldwide, not just Europe, after Western sanctions began imposing banking challenges in the country in response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine that was launched on February 25.
A spokesman for the Google Group-owned video-sharing site said: "Our policy prohibits content that denies, downplays or satirizes well-documented violence, and we will remove violations of these rules related to Russia's attack on Ukraine.
"Under these rules, we will also immediately ban global YouTube channels associated with Russian state-sponsored media," he added.
Twitter, Snap and Google Play
In addition, Alphabet-owned YouTube and Google's Google Play store have suspended all payment services in Russia, including subscription services.
Google will also temporarily halt ads from Russian advertisers on its global domains and networks, the company said. This is the basis for the company's recent advertising suspension in Russia.
Twitter and Snap Inc. saw a similar pause after Russia attacked Ukraine last February, and Google and YouTube previously halted online ad sales in Russia.
Ban satellites and RT
Facebook and Twitter have previously banned media outlets such as Sputnik and RT in Europe, which have been accused of misrepresenting the war in Ukraine. The EU has also banned Russian state media broadcasts in an effort to isolate Moscow.
Moscow, on the other hand, banned Facebook on its territory, restricted access to Twitter, and banned the Instagram app.
Notably, Russia's state media watchdog announced a ban on Instagram in the country because it believed there were calls for violence against Russian soldiers.
In turn, Russia's foreign ministry on Sunday saw the Western ban on Russian media as an attack on basic principles of free speech, noting that the communications site was clearly biased.
It also considers banning Russian channels on social networking sites a flagrant violation.