The Russian government continues to further restrict freely available information and has blocked Russian citizens from accessing the services of the Google News platform. Russia's communications regulatory agency accused the service of providing access to false information about the country's military operations in Ukraine.
Google has confirmed that its service has indeed been restricted since March 23, meaning citizens of the country can no longer access its content. Google's statement reads: “We have confirmed that some people in Russia are having trouble accessing the Google News app and website, and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end. We have worked hard to make these information services available to people in Russia for as long as possible."
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According to the agency Interfax in contrast, Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor provided its statement on the ban, stating that: “The US online news source in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic informace about the course of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine."
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Russia continues to restrict its citizens' access to free information. Recently, the country banned access to Facebook and Instagram, with a Moscow court ruling that Meta was engaging in "extremist activity." So Google News is certainly not the first service that Russia has curtailed in any way during this conflict, and it probably won't be the last either, as the invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing and has yet to end. Another expected ban by the Russian government may then be directed even against Wikipedia.
