In a sudden development, popular social media firms have started to impose restrictions on Russia over Ukraine crisis. YouTube has banned ads on RT and other Russian channels with immediate effect. If you are unaware, RT is the official YouTube channel managed by the Russian Government. The company has also restricted access to these channels in Ukraine. Going forward, Russia-backed RT will not be able to earn any revenue from the ads.
We checked RT channel and were unable to find any ads. YouTube just displays the video content only. However, this kind of sanctions will only have negligible effects because Russia is a rich country and they don’t depend upon YouTube revenues.
According to YouTube, they are pausing a number of channels to monetize on YouTube including several Russian channels. Moreover, YouTube will not recommend people to navigate to RT channel. These channels are also restricted in Ukraine based on a Government request from Ukraine Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The purpose is to block Russian propaganda on the platform. We don’t have an idea about the exact number of YouTube channels that have been blocked.
In a significant development, the Meta-owned Facebook also initiated steps to pause ads from the official Russian media on its platform. Meanwhile, Twitter also suspended all ads in both Ukraine and Russia to ensure public safety. In an interesting development, Russia had restricted access to Facebook and Twitter to avoid fake news.
There is also a chance that Russia could ban YouTube completely in the wake of the recent developments. Google also stopped displays of ads emerging from Russia in a move to sanction the country. It remains to be seen as to whether Twitter will suspend the official Russian President account but the move is slim because it’s not the official account of President Putin. It is to be noted that President Putin doesn’t have an official Twitter account just like Donald Trump.
We believe that imposing technology-based restrictions will have a negligible impact on Russia. The talks between Russia and Ukraine officials can only solve the current fiasco. The war should stop soon to prevent students and people from fleeing the nation. The assets of the nation should be protected at any cost.
