Google responds to Russian data backup warning

Google is planning to continue offering its free services in Russia, the company told the Moscow daily Vedomosti. The US tech giant added that it was working to resolve issues with creating new user accounts.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media warned that Russian Google users should create backup copies of their data, saying the tech giant’s parent company Alphabet had apparently started preventing them from registering new accounts in the country.

The announcement came shortly after some Google users in Russia experienced problems while trying to verify their identity via SMS, with the service reporting an error. The ministry said users should switch to other methods of two-factor authentication.

“We know that some users in Russia are having issues using Google accounts, and we are working to resolve these issues. We remain committed to keeping our free services available in Russia,” Google’s press office told the newspaper.

Google operates more than 40 digital services, including the Google search engine, Gmail, Google Drive cloud storage, and YouTube. Some of these are available for users without registration.

The US tech major has been under pressure in Russia for several years, particularly in relation to YouTube’s deletion of channels belonging to Russian media outlets, including RT, as well as those of public figures, bloggers, journalists, and artists, who have positions that differ from Western narratives.

The company stopped displaying ads to users shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, having paused monetization for content makers. In July, Russia’s media and digital watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said Google had blocked access to more than 200 YouTube channels in Russia.