The YouTube logo on a smartphone. Photo: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
YouTube on Friday announced that it is blocking access worldwide to channels associated with Russian state-funded media.
Driving the news: "This change is effective immediately, and we expect our systems to take time to ramp up," YouTube wrote in a statement.
- "Our Community Guidelines prohibit content denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events. We are now removing content about Russia’s invasion in Ukraine that violates this policy," YouTube said.
- The company previously paused YouTube ads in Russia. On Friday, it extended that policy to include "all of the ways to monetize on our platform in Russia."
The big picture: Several tech firms, including Facebook parent Meta, have restricted access to Russian state media on its platforms in response to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last month that the EU was banning Russian state media to stop their "toxic and harmful disinformation."
Go deeper: Big Tech restricts Russian state media from buying ads