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Google has suspended ads on YouTube and websites in Russia

In response to Russia's current invasion of Ukraine, Google has temporarily suspended all advertising in Russia. And compliance with US sanctions means publisher products, including AdSense, Ad Mob, and Google Ad Manager, are no longer available in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR). 

Update March 10, 2022: Google is “pausing the creation of new Russian accounts on AdSense, AdMob , and Google Ad Manager.” This includes signups for the YouTube Partner Program.

Update March 30, 2022: Google Publisher Policy now prohibits monetization of content that "exploits, dismisses, or condones" the war in Ukraine. YouTube Partners must also follow AdSense policy.

Ad serving is suspended in Russia

Google has stopped serving ads in Russia. 

What this means for creators: 

  • YouTube Partners will not earn ad revenue on views in Russia. Russian Partners will still be able to earn ad revenue from viewers outside of Russia and non-ad revenue like Super Chats and Merch sales (although US sanctions against Russian banks may affect Russian viewers' ability to pay).
  • Web publishers using AdSense or Google Ad Manager will not have ads served to viewers in Russia.

For partners and publishers with a large audience in Russia, this could mean a significant decrease in earnings.

What this means for users and viewers: 

  • Viewers in Russia will not see ads on YouTube. 
  • Website visitors in Russia will not see Google Ads. 
Pausing ads from Russian advertisers

Update March 10, 2022: Google is "pausing ads on Google properties and networks globally for advertisers based in Russia."

What is happening in contested areas? 

There are also sanctions affecting publishers in separatist regions in Ukraine declared independent by Russia.  

To comply with the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, Google publisher products (AdSense, AdMob, Ad Manager) are no longer available in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR). 

That also means the publisher products are not allowed be used on behalf of someone in those regions.

AdSense explains that publishers in those locations will have their accounts suspended:

If you're based in a location that's recently become subject to OFAC sanctions, your AdSense account will be suspended. 
If your account is affected by international sanctions, we’ll notify you by email when we suspend your account. No grace periods or exceptions are possible. If you believe your account shouldn’t have been suspended, please use this contact form to request an appeal.

Google will try to pay existing balances to the extent they are legally allowed. 

Also anyone physically located in one of those locations will not be able to sign in to AdSense, even if their account is not suspended. 

Note that if AdSense is disabled, any associated YouTube channel will lose monetization

More Information

These policies are likely to change. The details are current as of the article's publication date: March 4, 2022.

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