Back in 2022, YouTube announced that it would be blocking channels run by Russian media, such as Sputnik and RT. This ban was specifically for posting content about the Ukraine invasion by Russia. The content published violated YouTube’s policies and minimized the documented and violent events happening in the war. These channels were blocked in Europe before the block expanded globally. Although there is no exact amount of channels and videos removed, it has been estimated that over 1,000 channels and 15,000 videos were taken off the platform within ten days of the announcement.

Google has steadily accumulated a fine of 100,000 rubles every day since 2020. This came after Russian media outlets, RIA FAN and Tsagrad won their lawsuits against Google for the blocking of their channels. According to a report, this fine has doubled every week since. It has been said that 17 TV channels from Russia have filed a lawsuit against Google in their home country’s courts.

$2.5 Decillion Fined by Russia on Google: More background on this lawsuit

A court from Russia has given YouTube the ultimatum that if it does not restore the channels from the Russian broadcaster, the company will face more heavy fines. The $2.5 decillion fine would thus be doubled every day unless it is paid within nine months.

Considering the mind-boggling debt, Google LLC, a subsidiary of the company based in Russia filed for bankruptcy in 2022. During that period, the company’s assets in Russia amounted only to 3.5 billion rubles, while the debt reached over 19 billion rubles.

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This accusation comes from Alexander Ilanov who is the HOD of ideological work. He has called the game developed by Niantic the data collection method. This information collection has been alleged to target the Belarusian aviation located near Minsk. This was back when Pokemon GO was at its peak in terms of popularity.

During a talk show, Ilanov speculated about the placement of Pokemon spawn points. He was suspicious that Pokemon would spawn the most on the “territory of the 50th air base”. This airbase contained the runway which contained a lot of aviation equipment for the military. Thus, Ilanov saw this as a possible way to gather information.

Belarus Claims Agasint Pokemon GO: More background on this event

Pokemon GO, released back in 2016 is an AR game which lets people walk around with their smartphones searching for Pokemon to catch. This AR smartphone game was developed by Niantic, Inc.. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. At its peak, Pokemon GO had over 232 million active players globally in 2016. Although the mainstream hype has died down since then., the game is still going strong with more than 150 million monthly players.

Belarus claims are surprisingly not the first time Pokemon GO has been accused of intel collecting. Pokemon GO has been alleged by Russia that the game could pose risks to security. Russia accused the game of being a ploy from the CIA. However, these claims were swiftly denied by Niantic. These claims were made back in 2016 and since then, some people are still of the belief that Pokemon GO is an espionage tool.

Pokemon GO is not the only app on the chopping block regarding this matter. For instance, a fitness app called Strava came under fire in 2018. Strava has shared locations of secret army bases when active duty personnel would use the app around the base.

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