INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Google has begun evacuating its staff from Russia as the tech giant risks becoming the latest target of an unprecedented crackdown on free
speech amid Moscow's deadly invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.The web giant has in recent weeks begun
assisting some of its 244 employees who had expressed interest in relocating from Russia, Bloomberg cited unnamed people familiar with the
decisions as saying.Google suspended advertising in Russia following the invasion and its YouTube video hosting service said it has removed
Google said.The aggressive moderation of pro-Russian media reportedly prompted worries among YouTube managers that Russia would ban the
would deal a major blow to free speech within Russia, as the site has been a key platform for opposition-minded Russians to voice their
halt to its advertising business in the country.Industry experts say advertisers would face difficulties substituting ad revenue from
YouTube, according to a recent report by the business website RBC
at the Moscow-based Media Direction Group, as saying.Russia has increased pressure on mostly U.S.-based tech companies in recent years for
crippling fines on Google for regularly failing to take down content deemed illegal in Russia.
