Google pauses activity for advertisers based in Russia

Google will put the global brakes on ads from advertisers based in Russia, it announced Thursday. This means not only that those advertisers will not be able to address Russia-based users, but will see their advertising paused worldwide.

Escalating ads suspensions. Google first began imposing ad suspensions on February 27. The initial round of suspensions was aimed at Russian state-owned media outlets. On March 3, the company expanded on the suspension by including all ads serving to users in Russia. 

Google is far from alone here. Numerous other platforms, including Microsoft Advertising, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have announced similar policies in light of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. However, Google seems to be the first platform to take these actions a step further by hamstringing Russia-based advertisers from reaching global audiences.

Why we care. This cuts off an important channel for brands in Russia, hindering their ability to reach potential customers elsewhere in the world. The question now is whether other platforms will follow Google’s lead.