The Donetsk People’s Republic will block the search engine to protect its population from alleged misinformation
Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic. © AP
The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has decided to block Google in an attempt to shield the local population from “threats” coming from both the West and Kiev, DPR leader Denis Pushilin announced on Friday.
The Russian and DPR leadership are taking steps to protect Donbass, as “the West and Ukraine are placing unprecedented pressure on the Republic and creating threats to both physical and psychological security,” Pushilin wrote on Telegram. “The purpose of this pressure is to intimidate the citizens of the Donetsk People’s Republic, to break their spirit.”
Although he expressed confidence that the West will not succeed, Pushilin said action had to be taken, adding that “the ruthless propaganda” from Ukraine and the West has gone over the edge, with Russians being persecuted, and “disinformation and lies” being spread.
“To my mind, this situation can be tolerated no more. We have decided to block Google on the territory of the DPR. This is what any society would do to criminals – it isolates them from other people,” Pushilin said.
He noted that the decision would be reversed if Google backtracks on its “criminal policies,” embraces common sense, and complies with the law.
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A similar statement to this effect was made by the authorities of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), with its head, Leonid Pasechnik, saying Google has become “the main weapon” used by the West and Ukraine in their media offensive against Donbass. “We will do fine without Google. If they redeem themselves and start respecting people – we will think about its return,” he said.
The move to ban Google in the DPR comes after Russia fined the company 21 billion rubles ($356 million) on Monday, citing its failure to delete prohibited information on the Ukraine conflict. Russia has long been critical of the way foreign platforms deal with online content. In March, it introduced a law that allows substantial fines or more severe punishment to be imposed on persons and entities deemed to be discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and spreading false information about the conflict.
