The subsidiary of Google in Russia plans to declare bankruptcy and stop operating in the country after the authorities have seized your bank account. The repression of Kremlin against the US tech giant comes after months of pressure for not removing content that Moscow consider illegal.
“Since March 22, 2022, the company provides its own bankruptcy and inability to meet their monetary obligations,” reads the message published this Wednesday in the Russian official federal register Fedresurs.
The computer company has confirmed its fragile situation. “The seizure of the Bank account of Google Russia by the Russian authorities has made the operation of our office in Russia, including hiring and paying employees, paying suppliers and vendors, and meeting other financial obligations, unsustainable,” said a company spokesperson.
Pressure on technology
Although the Kremlin has not yet chosen to block access to Google, the embargo of his account is a serious blow against the company. In addition, this is not the first case of pressure against technology, accelerated since Youtubeof the same property, decided to block access to some Russian state-affiliated media, such as the channel RT or the agency Sputnikas well as prohibit its monetization through advertising.
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It is currently unknown if the cause of the insolvency of Google are the million-dollar fines imposed by Moscow for not abiding by its restrictive digital censorship laws or for open complaints at the request of Russian media. The company confirmed in May that it had blocked up to eight million ads related to the Russian military campaign on Ukraine. This was sought to “avoid profit or exploitation” of the invasion. Advertising by Russian companies was also banned abroad.
According to the Interfax agency, in 2021 the losses of Google Russia amounted to 26 billion rubles (about 409 million dollars). Despite the closure of its office and its operations on Russian soil, the company has explained that free services such as gmail, google play or Youtube will continue to work.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.