Google has begun evacuating its staff from Russia as the tech giant risks becoming the latest target of an unprecedented crackdown on free speech amid Moscow's deadly invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.The web giant has in recent weeks begun assisting some of its 244 employees who had expressed interest in relocating from Russia, Bloomberg cited unnamed people familiar with the decisions as saying.Google suspended advertising in Russia following the invasion and its YouTube video hosting service said it has removed more than 1,000 channels related to the invasion including one run by Russias Defense Ministry for violating its content policies.Our policies prohibit content denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events, including Russias invasion in Ukraine, Google said.The aggressive moderation of pro-Russian media reportedly prompted worries among YouTube managers that Russia would ban the popular service in retaliation.Russias media regulator accused YouTube of terrorist behavior for running since-removed ads calling for sabotage of Russian and Belarusian railways, and state media has reported that YouTube could be banned as soon as this week.BanningYouTube would deal a major blow to free speech within Russia, as the site has been a key platform for opposition-minded Russians to voice their views without censorship.There are no indications yet that Googles popular search engine faces a similar risk of being banned in Russia.A Russian court banned Facebook and Instagram as extremist Monday, days after blocking access to the social media giants in the country.Google joined hundreds of foreign firms in complying with Western sanctions following Russias invasion of Ukraine, announcing a halt to its advertising business in the country.Industry experts say advertisers would face difficulties substituting ad revenue from YouTube, according to a recent report by the business website RBC.
A number of advertisers have beguntransferring their content to Russian alternatives, including Yandex and VK.Theres RuTube and a few other platforms that will gain popularity, but it will take a few months for advertisers to master them, RBC quoted Alexander Papkov, CTO at the Moscow-based Media Direction Group, as saying.Russia has increased pressure on mostly United States -based tech companies in recent years for what it calls interference in Russias domestic affairs and other infractions.In the past year, Russian courts have leviedincreasingly crippling fines on Google for regularly failing to take down content deemed illegal in Russia.