Mar 03, 2022 11:51:00

Russian government-owned media apps removed from Google Play in Europe

On March 1, 2022, the Russian government-affiliated media, the Russian news agency Sputnik

Sputnik , which is under the umbrella of today , and the Russian Federation -owned TV station 'Russia Today (RT) ' app are used on Google Play in Europe. News agency Reuters reported that the situation was not possible. Google has previously restricted the use of the app in Ukraine, but it seems that the target area has expanded.

Exclusive: Google blocks RT, Sputnik from Play app store in Europe | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-google-blocks-rt-sputnik-play-app-store-europe-2022-03-02/

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, governments and private companies began sanctioning Russia one after another. Especially for RT and Sputnik, Meta has removed it from services for the EU on Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok has also blocked the content of two companies in the same region. YouTube has announced a policy to stop monetizing the channel and block access from the EU.

YouTube announces the exclusion of two Russian news media companies, IT companies are also eliminated one after another --GIGAZINE

Google also restricted RT and Sputnik app downloads from within Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government. Under this measure, existing users will continue to be able to use the app, but new downloads will be restricted. This time, Google has restricted downloads from European countries in addition to Ukraine. Also on the same day, Google was found to have removed Russian state media such as RT and Sputnik from its news-related features, including its news search tool.

In response to Google's regulations, RT Editor-in-Chief Anna Belkina said, 'There is no evidence that RT's recent coverage is false. It seems afraid to see it. '

In addition, Apple also restricts downloads of RT and Sputnik in its own app store, but unlike Google, this measure is done for all countries except Russia. In addition, Apple has announced that it has restricted hardware sales in Russia.

Apple stops selling products in Russia, Russia media news app distribution stop and map traffic information invalidation --GIGAZINE