Google Completely Stops Selling Ads In Russia

Google announced late Thursday it would be suspending ad sales in Russia until further notice.

“In light of the extraordinary circumstances, we’re pausing Google ads in Russia,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The situation is evolving quickly, and we will continue to share updates when appropriate.”

The spokesperson said the company has stopped selling display ads, ads in search results and YouTube ads. Russian publishers are still eligible to earn revenue from Google ads shown to users in countries outside of Russia, the spokesperson said.

The move follows Google’s decision to prevent Russian state-controlled media outlets, such as Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, from earning revenue on its platform.

Other major Western technology companies have moved to limit or suspend operations in Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. Apple announced Tuesday it was suspending all product sales in the country until further notice, and the company said that apps, including Apple Maps and Apple Pay, would no longer be supported in Russia.

Microsoft announced Friday it will “suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.”

“Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,” Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote.

Oracle said Wednesday it had suspended operations in Russia in response to a request from Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov.