Russia bans Google News, Russians download Wikipedia before it becomes next target
Russia's crackdown on external news sources continues
Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecoms regulator, has banned the Google News service in the country, accusing the platform of disseminating fake news about Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
The regulator told Interfax news agency that based on a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, it has restricted access to News.Google in Russia.
It alleged that Google News resource had been providing access to multiple articles and materials containing inaccurate, publicly important information about the special military operation in Ukraine.
In a statement to Reuters, Google said it had reports that some people in Russia are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website, and that this was not due to any technical issue on Google's part.
Spreading 'fake news' about Russia's military activity in Ukraine is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to a new law signed by President Putin.
Google stated earlier this month that it will cease selling all web advertisements in Russia and that it would not support apps, websites, or YouTube channels that promote material exploiting, dismissing, or condoning the Ukrainian crisis.
On the request of the European Union, Google also blocked YouTube channels belonging to Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in Europe.
Following the Prosecutor General's Office's requests, Russia also blocked Facebook, Instagram and Twitter earlier this month.
In addition, Roskomnadzor blocked access to a number of foreign news channels, including BBC, Voice of America, DW and Radio Free Europe, alleging that they were propagating false information about the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, a Russian court accused Meta of extremism, putting it in the same class as organisations like the Taliban and Islamic State. The new ruling means Meta is no longer allowed to open offices or do any business in Russia.
As Russia tightens its grip on information sources during its invasion of Ukraine, many Russian internet users are realising that certain digital resources may soon disappear from the web or become more difficult to access.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, is one such source of information which many Russians fear will be targeted by the Kremlin in the coming days.
Russian authorities threatened to shut down Wikipedia earlier this month, so people are now downloading the whole Russian edition of the site to use offline if needed.
Wikipedia contains more than 1.8 million articles in Russian.
Russian downloads currently account for 42 per cent of all traffic on Kiwix servers, up from 2 per cent in 2021, according to Stephane Coillet-Matillon, CEO of Kiwix, the organisation that enables these downloads.
During the first half of March, the 29 GB Russian-language Wikipedia was downloaded 105,889 times, more than 4,000 per cent increase over the first half of January.
Coillet-Matillon said something similar was seen in 2017 when Turkey blocked Wikipedia, although "this one is just another dimension."