YouTube has reportedly followed its peers and disabled monetization options for channels based in Russia due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to a statement shared to social media by NEXTA, translated in the comments, it explains that the video service will be expanding initial ad restrictions to all monetization features including YouTube Premium, Music Premium, subscriptions, sponsorships, super chat, super strikers, and merch.
Right now, none of these restrictions will affect YouTube viewers in Russia — only creators. The statement ends by explaining that as the situation in Ukraine develops further updates may be made.
With this move, Google joins Twitch as the latest company to remove monetization options for creators in Russia. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen plenty of tech companies take these actions against the country in response to their military actions.
As it stands, Facebook and Twitter are both are blocked or partially blocked in Russia. Both YouTube and Twitch are still available to watch in the country right now, but this could change in the near future.
In the film and TV space, most of the major movie studios have canceled scheduled releases in Russia. Netflix also recently suspended access to its service in Russia. The latest company to take action has been Sony, which will no longer provide PlayStation releases or consoles to the country.
As the conflict continues, it remains to be seen how many other companies will take action against Russia or when any of these decisions will be lifted.
