Google confirms its News app and website have been blocked in Russia

Russia has issued a new restriction against a Western tech company amid its ongoing armed conflict with Ukraine. Google confirmed on Thursday that users based in Russia are having difficulties accessing the Google News app and website.

"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 told TechCrunch. But a source of the publication noted that Google News services have been effectively blocked in the country.

Google's confirmation follows a report from the Interfax news agency that Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) announced it has blocked Google News in the country. The decision comes after a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, claiming that Google News has "provided access to numerous publications and materials containing unreliable, publicly significant information" on the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's large-scale military operations into Ukrainian territory entered the second month on Thursday. But it has also affected the availability of services in Russia from a long list of tech companies. Several video game companies announced the suspension of game sales and hardware shipments in Russia. PayPal also stopped its payments services in Russia after voicing support for Ukraine. Airbnb made Russia-based listings unavailable for new bookings.

Social media companies have also implemented drastic changes to their services in Russia. TikTok suspended the option to create new posts and livestreams after a so-called "fake news law" was implemented in the country that could punish people criticizing Russia with fines and jail time.

Meta previously demoted posts from Russian state-controlled media outlets on Facebook and Instagram. And, in quite a controversial decision, the parent company of Facebook reportedly changed some of its rules to allow the use of violent language in posts condemning Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus has been supporting Russia's military operations against Ukraine. In return, a Moscow court granted the Russian Prosecutor General's Office's request to ban Facebook and Instagram along with labeling the social media companies as "extremist" organizations.

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