YouTube says it will now block channels linked to Russia-backed media outlets worldwide. Last week, it blocked channels from the likes of RT and Sputnik in Europe following an EU directive. The updated policy takes effect immediately, though YouTube's systems will take a little time to fully block the channels.

The service also said "denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events" is not allowed under its Community Guidelines. YouTube is taking down videos about the conflict in Ukraine that violate the rule. On Thursday, Twitter and Facebook removed posts from Russia's embassy in the UK that denied the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.

YouTube has also deleted more than 1,000 channels and over 15,000 videos related to Russia's invasion ok Ukraine for violating various policies, such as those on hate speech, misinformation and graphic content. Google stopped all ad sales in Russia last week and it has now paused all YouTube monetization and payments in the country.

YouTube says it may take further action in Russia as the conflict continues. In addition, it's directing users to trusted sources of news regarding the invasion.

Facebook is changing a rule that prohibits users from calling for violence in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The change, which was first reported byReuters, allows people in Ukraine and a handful of other countries “to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion.” People in Ukraine, Poland and Russia are also permitted to “call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.”

Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement that the company was "temporarily” allowing some posts that in the past would have been taken down under the company’s rules prohibiting inciting violence. He added that the company won’t allow “credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.” The company will also take down specific credible threats against Putin and Lukashenko, according to a memo reported by Reuters.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders,’” Stone said. “We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”

The change underscores just how much social media platforms are rushing to adapt their content policies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Facebook has already taken several steps to limit the influence of Russian state media outlets and took down a network of fake accounts boosting pro-Russia propaganda. The Russian government has responded by banning Facebook.

As the conflict in Ukraine continues, Google is rolling out an Android feature it hopes will help people in the country stay safe. Ukraine's government asked Google to deploy an air raid alert system on Android phones, and it worked with the company to do so. Google says the feature complements the existing air strike alerts — it's based on alerts the government is already providing to its residents.

In the latest update to a blog post in which it details the steps it's taking to help Ukraine, Google says it has now suspended most of its commercial activities in Russia. Those include ads for all entities based in Russia, Google Cloud signups, payments on most services and YouTube monetization features for Russian viewers. Free services such as YouTube, Gmail and Search are still available in Russia for the time being.

Starting today, hotel owners in countries neighboring Ukraine can note on their business profile if they offer discounted or free stays to refugees. Businesses can share details on their business profile on Search and Maps about services and aid they're offering to refugees from Ukraine.

Google is also letting NGOs in Warsaw use one of its campuses to offer legal and psychological support to refugees. It previously announced similar support for NGOs in Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, as well as a $10 million pledge toward local organizations in Poland that are aiding refugees.

Meanwhile, Google's Threat Analysis Group has detected activity from FancyBear and Ghostwriter, hacking groups believed to have ties to Russia and Belarus, respectively. The team shared details about those threats earlier this week to increase awareness among those in the security community and those who may be at risk of cyberattacks.

In addition, the company says it has complied with an EU directive to remove Russian state-funded media websites from search results in the region. It's also removing more Russian media apps from Google Play.

Facebook has updated its Community Help section in Ukraine to add resources from local UN and Red Cross agencies. The information Facebook has added will make it easier for users to find medical help and other kinds of assistance not just in Ukraine, but also in neighboring countries. In addition, Community Help now contains the WhatsApp helpline for Ukraine's State Emergency Services to connect people with critical updates and vital services.

To make sure that people who need it can quickly access the section, Facebook is putting a link to Community Help at the top of its feeds for Ukrainain users, even if they've already left the country. The link will also appear at the top of the results for relevant searches on Facebook, as well as at the top of users' Instagram feeds. 

Facebook has updated its Emotional Health Center, as well, adding mental health tips (such as how to support children during a crisis) from the WHO and other organizations in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Users in Ukraine might also start seeing more ads connecting them to organizations providing aid, because Facebook is giving those groups access to free ad campaigns to get critical messaging out to those who need it. The World Health Organization, for instance, has put out ads promoting information on breastfeeding for displaced mothers. 

Finally, those who need to get in touch with the WHO's Health Alert helpline for mental health in Ukraine and neighboring countries can add the number +41 79 893 18 92 to their WhatsApp contacts. They simply have to message "hi" to that number to get the process started. 

Facebook made several other moves over the past couple of weeks in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The social network previously demoted Russian state media across its entire platform and took down fake accounts boosting Russian information in Ukraine shortly after the attacks started. It also enabled a "lock profile" tool for people in Ukraine, giving them a one-click solution to ensure that nobody outside their friends list can see their posts, photos and information. 

More major gaming companies are joining the boycott against Russia, with Ubisoft and Take-Two putting business on hold amid the country's invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Ubisoft updated a blog post in which it expressed support for Ukraine and its team members based there to note it's pausing sales in Russia.

Take-Two, meanwhile, has stopped sales of games and ended marketing support in Russia and Belarus. The publisher also told GamesIndustry.biz it's preventing people in the two countries from installing its games. That includes Grand Theft Auto V, which is believed to be the third most-popular game in Russia behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2, based on monthly active users.

Since the invasion began, many notable gaming companies have withdrawn from Russia, including Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Microsoft, EA and CD Projekt. Sony also removedGran Turismo 7 from its Russian storefront just as the game was released elsewhere, while Nintendo halted Switch eShop payments.

Other major companies have ended or limited services and sales in Russia, including Google, Netflix, TikTok, PayPal, Adobe, internet backbone provider Cogent and Meta. Samsung has stopped shipping products to the country, while Apple has suspended all sales there.

The Snap Map feature, which shows where Snaps were taken, can be pretty useful for those who want to know the hottest places to visit in an area — not so much for people trying to flee a war. That's why, as a safety precaution, Snap has temporarily disabled the "heatmap" feature for public posts in Ukraine. Typically, the Snap Map highlights places where there are tons of Snaps taken with a glowing red circle and spots where some posts were made with a blue circle. If you look at the feature in the app or on the web, you'll see that there are no longer indicators placed over Ukraine. 

Other tech companies had also disabled features that can show the movements of Ukrainians leaving the country, which is currently under attack from Russia. Google disabled live traffic data in Ukraine, including the live traffic layer for Maps, to protect the safety of locals. It also turned off user-submitted Maps placements after claims that they were being used by the Russian military to coordinate airstrikes. When it announced that it's halting all product sales in Russia, Apple said that it had disabled live traffic data in Ukraine, as well, to prevent the app from being used to target Ukraine residents. 

Gamers won't be able to make digital purchases from Nintendo's Russian eShop for now. The gaming giant has announced that the eShop in Russia has been temporarily placed in maintenance mode "due to the fact that the payment service [it uses] has suspended the processing of payments in rubles." As Nintendo Life notes, people have been reporting about the outage on social networks, showing photos of their Switch getting error code 2813-0999 when they try to access the Russian eShop.

It's unclear if Nintendo itself cut off payments in the region on purpose, or if the company had no choice but to place the eShop in maintenance mode because a third-party processor removed ruble payments from its system. The translated wording seems to indicate that the latter is more likely. 

Other gaming companies had previously taken steps to limit access to their products and services in Russia. CD Projekt Red halted sales of its games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and all titles on its GOG store in Russia and Belarus. EA followed suit, preventing players in the two countries from making purchases from its Origin storefront and app. 

Microsoft suspended all new sales of its products and services (including Xbox) in Russia, following a request from Ukraine to ban all players in the country from its system. Ukraine also asked Sony to ban all players in Russia from the PlayStation network, but the company has yet to respond. According to Eurogamer, though, Sony quietly pulled Gran Turismo 7 from sale in the country.

Google has stopped selling ads in Russia completely, according to Reuters. The tech giant's decision applies to YouTube, search and outside publishing partners, expanding the more limited ad bans it implemented since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. "In light of the extraordinary circumstances, we're pausing Google ads in Russia," the company told the news organization in a statement. "The situation is evolving quickly, and we will continue to share updates when appropriate."

The tech giant blocked RT and other Russian channels from generating ad revenue on YouTube in late February before barring Russian state media from being able to monetize their content across its platforms. It had also prohibited all kinds of ads that seek to take advantage of the situation, unless they're anti-war advertisements.

Google is far from the only tech company that has implemented ad-related changes across the region. Twitter had quickly paused ads and recommendations in Russia and Ukraine after the invasion began "to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don't detract from it." Facebook blocked Russian state media from running ads on its platform after the country's authorities partially restricted access to the social network. More recently, it blocked access to RT and Sputnik within the EU and Ukraine before demoting all Russian state media on its website around the world. Microsoft banned RT and Sputnik from its ad platform, as well, and pulled their news apps from its store. 

As The New York Times notes, Google has been very careful with its decisions involving Russia. It has over 100 employees in the country, and Russian authorities previously threatened to prosecute individuals if their employers don't abide by their rules. 

Google's decision to ban all ad sales in the country comes shortly after Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded the takedown of YouTube video ads it says are spreading "false political information" about Ukraine. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Roskomnadzor is accusing YouTube of running "advertising campaigns to misinform the Russian audience" and are "aimed at creating a distorted perception of current events." 

The regulator didn't say whether it would limit YouTube in Russia if Google doesn't comply, but Russian authorities have been blocking websites that provide information contradicting their country's official narrative about the invasion. In addition to restricting access to Facebook within the country, the Russian government also limited people's access to Twitter and previously threatened to block Wikipedia.

The Ukranian government wants gaming giants to join a tech industry crackdown on Russia following its Ukraine invasion. As Polygonobserved, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called on Microsoft, Sony and other gaming companies to "temporarily block" all Russian and Belarusian player accounts. He also asked eSports organizers to halt participation from Russian and Belarussian competitors, and to cancel any events planned for either country.

These moves would motivate Russians to resist the "disgraceful military aggression" in Ukraine, Fedorov argued. He believed technology could be the "best answer" to Russia's military hardware.

We've asked Microsoft and Sony for comment. Some game developers have already shown support for Ukraine. Cyberpunk 2077 creator CD Projekt Red, for instance, donated the equivalent of $232,000 to humanitarian efforts in the country.

It's not clear if Microsoft or Sony will take action. Russia isn't the largest market for either company (Sony's PS4 has mostly thrived in Europe and North America), but banning the country even briefly would still represent a significant move — that's many players who'd be kicked offline. Microsoft has already banned Russian state media, though, and they'd be joining companies like Apple that have halted at least some business. There may be pressure on the PlayStation and Xbox teams to act, even if they don't go as far as Ukraine might like.

Editors at the Russian version of Wikipedia say the country's communications regulator has threatened to block the site. They shared a notice from Roskomnadzor, which claimed a page about the Ukraine invasion includes "illegally distributed information," such as the number of Russian military casualties and those of Ukrainian civilians and children, according to Reuters.

The regulator demanded that editors remove that information from the article, which is called "Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)." Roskomnadzor said that if editors don't comply, it will block all of Wikipedia in Russia. Currently, new and unregistered users aren't able to edit the article in order to protect it from vandalism.

The article includes casualty estimates from both the Ukrainian and Russian governments, as Motherboard notes. As of Tuesday, it included claims from Ukraine that 352 civilians and more than 110 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, while 1,684 civilians had been wounded. The country said Russia had sustained 5,710 Russian military casualties. Russia, however, claimed two of its soldiers and 200 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

Editors of Wikipedia's Russian site may add more sources for the information, but one told Motherboard they likely won't respond to the threat otherwise. Roskomnadzor has issued several other warnings to the site over the years.

"The invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the senseless loss of life and has also been accompanied by information warfare online," the Wikimedia Foundation said on Tuesday. "The spread of disinformation about the ongoing crisis affects the safety of people who depend on facts to make life-and-death decisions and interferes with everyone’s right to access open knowledge."

It added that it's "working with affected communities to identify potential threats to information on Wikimedia projects, and supporting volunteer editors and administrators who serve as a first line of defense against manipulation of facts and knowledge."

Since the start of the invasion, Russian regulators have restricted access to Twitter and Facebook. They have also demanded that tech companies remove restrictions on state media channels. Facebook, YouTube and TikTok all blocked RT and Sputnik in Europe. Twitter has placed labels on tweets from Russian state media outlets.

Meanwhile, the former head of Yandex's news operations has accused the Russian search giant of censoring information about the invasion. In a note to his former colleagues posted on Facebook, Lev Gershenzon urged them to "stop being accomplices to a terrible crime" and, if they were unable to do anything else to change things, to quit.