Google has reportedly blocked users from making new accounts in Russia

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has blocked Russian users from creating new accounts on its platform, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday, citing comments from representatives of the Russian Ministry.

“The ministry confirms that Google has limited the ability to create new accounts. Telecom operators have also observed a significant decrease in the number of SMS messages sent by the company to Russian users,” Interfax quoted the ministry.

The ministry said SMS verification of existing Google accounts with two-factor authentication was still working, but there was “no guarantee this feature will remain available.”

Earlier this month, users reportedly encountered problems registering new accounts and were sent an error message when they tried to confirm a new account with a Russian phone number.

The move comes after the U.S. company said in August it was deactivating AdSense accounts in Russia. It had stopped serving ads to users in the country in March 2022 and paused monetization of content that exploited, dismissed, or condoned Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In recent months, slower speeds were recorded on the tech giant’s YouTube platform in the country.