Russia Fines Google Over YouTube Content on Military Surrender

Russia has fined Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, for showing videos on its platform with instructions for Russian soldiers on how to surrender. The Russian court is requesting 3.8 million roubles—around $41,530—as a penalty.

Russia’s TASS news agency reported this Monday that Russian authorities claimed that the material shared on YouTube provided guidance to Russian military members on the process of surrendering during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

According to Reuters, many believe that Russia has been deliberately disrupting YouTube videos by slowing down speeds to prevent users from watching certain content. However, the Russian government has denied any involvement.

In the past few years, Russia has banned and blocked several platforms to prevent citizens from accessing certain content. A few months ago, WhatsApp and Telegram experienced outages and Russian authorities said these were caused by cyberattacks. However, a few experts claim these are just strategies to tighten internet censorship.

Russia has also previously requested social media platforms to remove content that they consider “fakes” or illegal and has issued fines for those companies that have not complied.

The details of the videos suggesting or instructing soldiers to surrender have not been provided. And Google hasn’t commented on this matter or shared any public statement yet.

In December, Russia announced a new ban on cryptocurrency mining due to rising energy demands. Despite legalizing crypto mining in August, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to approve the ban in 10 regions of the country from January 1 until March 15, 2031, considering the electricity shortages in those areas.