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Russian watchdog blocks Google over “inauthentic” info on war | Technology

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Ban comes after Google said it would not help platforms sell ads alongside content that condone the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia’s communications regulator has blocked the news aggregator service of Alphabet Inc’s Google, accusing it of allowing access to what it calls fake material about the country’s military operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency said on Wednesday.

“We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end,” Google said in a statement.

“We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible.”

The move comes after Google said it would not help websites, apps and YouTube channels sell ads alongside content that deemed to exploit, dismiss or condone the conflict in Ukraine. The tech giant also earlier this month announced it would stop selling all online ads in Russia.

Interfax said Roskomnadzor, the Russian regulator, had acted on a request from the office of Russia’s prosecutor general.

“The American online news resource in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine,” Interfax quoted the regulator as saying.

The announcement comes after regulator last week demanded Google stop allowing the spread of so-called threats on YouTube that “are terrorists in nature and threaten the life and health of Russian citizens.”

A new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military.

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