The US-based tech giant had previously stripped entities and individuals from the country of several other monetization tools
Google’s official application store, Google Play, has indefinitely suspended payments to app developers with Russian bank accounts.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US-based tech company had already limited monetization options and some other services available to Russian and Belarusian individuals and entities.
Minsk is one of Moscow’s key allies, and has supported Russia in the Ukraine conflict, without directly engaging in hostilities.
On Thursday, Russia’s Habr media outlet published a screenshot of a notification apparently sent to a developer by Google, telling them that “on December 26, 2024 Google Play will indefinitely stop processing payments to Google Play developers whose receiving bank accounts are opened in Russia.”
“This means that… income from worldwide sales will no longer be accrued to you. You will receive the final payments on all transactions in Google Play on January 15, 2025,” the message added.
In May 2022, Google Play blocked the “downloading of paid apps and updates to paid apps in Russia and Belarus,” citing “payment system disruption.” Free apps, however, remain available there.
A few months prior, YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced that it had “paused all YouTube ads in Russia.” Around the same time, the video-hosting platform removed channels belonging to multiple Russian state-funded media.
In August of this year, Google AdSense – a program which helps website owners tailor advertisements to their content and generate per-click revenue – announced that it was terminating its services in Russia. Local media quoted an email notification sent by Google to Russian publishers as stating that “we will deactivate all AdSense accounts located in Russia.”
Russian authorities have accused the tech giant of discriminating against Russian state media and users, as well as failing to remove content they deem illegal.
In October, Russian media reported that Google owed a staggering $20 decillion to 17 Russian broadcasters that had lodged lawsuits against the company for what they described as the unlawful blocking of their content. Soon after that, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the news, saying that the huge sum was “filled with symbolism.”
In October 2022, the Moscow Arbitration Court ordered Google to restore YouTube access to blocked Russian media outlets, imposing a compounding penalty of 100,000 rubles per day ($1,028) for non-compliance. The penalty doubles every week with no cap imposed on the sum.
In May of that year, Google filed for bankruptcy in Russia and moved its staff out of the country after authorities seized its bank account.
