Google Announces Monetization Sanctions On Russia

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, numerous sanctions have been imposed against the Putin regime, but parts of the online economy could not be deactivated so easily. This included Google’s advertising network AdSense. But this has now been deactivated for Russia.

Sanctions maintained since the beginning of the war

AdSense is irreplaceable for everything related to Google, because it not only brings money into the coffers of the search engine giant, but also provides support for those who want or need to earn money on YouTube, for example. This has also been the case for Russia so far. Shortly after the war began, the company implemented various restrictions in this regard, including a pause in monetization for content and channels that exploit, deny or condone the war.

State-funded media have since been categorically excluded. Private and independent channels have not been affected so far, and AdSense has continued to be supported here. But now that is also coming to an end. The company from Mountain View, California, has announced on the associated Support page released an update stating: “Due to recent developments in Russia, we are pausing the ability for Russia-based publishers to monetize with AdSense, AdMob, and Ad Manager.”

What exactly is responsible for this step, Google also shared in response to requests from media such as Reuters not with it. However, it is no big secret that the US company and the Russian media watchdogs are currently at loggerheads, even more so than in the past months and years of war. At the end of July, for example, Russia announced that it would be reducing access to YouTube by around 70 percent.

Both sides have been engaged in a blockade and blocking battle in recent months, with Google blocking propaganda channels and Russia blocking content critical of the war. Russian channels have nevertheless found ways to monetize their content, but by ending AdSense, Google is putting a categorical stop to this.