Google has blocked users from being able to edit Maps in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, according to News about BuzzFeed. It also removed all places and user-submitted contributions, such as photos, videos, and business information in those countries made as of February 24. The tech giant launched decided to “exercise extreme caution” after people claimed on social media that the Russian military had relied on user-generated pins on Maps to coordinate air strikes on Ukraine.
Equal News about BuzzFeed explains, there are posts going viral on sites like Twitter with screenshots of the Map showing pins labeled “” ГОСПОДАРСТВО “or Ukrainian for “farm” in Kyiv. It is widely assumed that user-generated tags that read “farm” or “agriculture” created on February 28 match the locations of missile attacks on cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv.
However, Google told the publication that some of the edits by users marking locations in Ukraine as “farms” were made a year ago. Even so, it is disabling user contributions to Maps since the Russian invasion began. A company spokesperson said:
“Out of an abundance of caution, we will remove user contributions such as photos, videos, reviews, and business information, as well as all user-submitted locations from Google Maps in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus as of now. since the invasion started and is temporarily blocking new edits.
A few days ago, the tech giant also remove Live traffic data on Maps in Ukraine, most likely to protect the location of the fleeing locals. It blocked as well as YouTube channels of Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik across Europe, following the European Commission’s announcement that it would ban what it calls the “Kremlin media machine” in the EU. Other tech companies have also responded to calls to limit their services in Russia and block access to their state-owned media facilities. Facebook knock down fake accounts spreading Russian disinformation and limit For example, RT and Sputnik’s access to its platform. Recently, Apple pause all product sales in Russia and disable all traffic data in Ukraine after a request from Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov.
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