Tech restriction on Russian state media from buying ads

Following in the footsteps of social giant Facebook, tech giant Google has imposed restrictions on Russia's state media after the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. These Russian state-run media outlets will not be able to make any money from Google as a result of the ban. 

Google spokesman Michael Asiman told Reuters news agency that Google had stopped running all state-owned media in Russia. These Russian media outlets will not be able to buy ads through Google tools and place ads on any of Google's services, such as YouTube, Google Search and Gmail. 

Another Google spokesman said the decision was made in light of the current situation. Alphabet, Google's parent company, will take even tougher action if needed. 

Meanwhile, Google's YouTube division said that monetization of other Russian channels, including a number of Russian YouTube channels, had been stopped due to recent European Union (EU) sanctions. 

Earlier, Facebook authorities told Meta that the Russian state media had blocked access to advertising and revenue streams on their platforms.