State Duma Says Will Ban YouTube Due to Russian Channels

The Russian State Duma announced Monday that YouTube will be banned if it no longer has Russian channels on its site.

This came after the platform announced baning Russian-funded media worldwide, not just in Europe, in response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine that was launched on February 25.

A spokesperson for the video-sharing site, owned by Google Group, said: “Our guidelines prohibit content that denies, minimizes or mocks well-documented incidents of violence, and we will remove content related to the Russian attack on Ukraine that violates these rules.

“In accordance with these rules, we will also ban with immediate effect worldwide YouTube channels linked to Russian state-funded media,” he added.

On the other hand, YouTube and Google Play store suspended all payment-based services, including subscriptions, in Russia.

“As a follow-up, we’re now extending this pause to all our monetization features, including YouTube Premium, Channel Memberships, Super Chat and Merchandise, for viewers in Russia,” YouTube said in a statement on Thursday.

In the same vein, Google confirmed the Play billing suspension in an official statement;

“Due to payment system disruption, we will be pausing Google Play’s billing system for users in Russia in the coming days. This means users will not be able to purchase apps and games, make subscription payments or conduct any in-app purchases of digital goods using Google Play in Russia. Free apps will remain available on the Play Store.”