<p>YouTube has blocked Russia's RT and Sputnik in Europe over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the video-sharing platform said on Tuesday, as the European Union prepares to ban the state-backed broadcasters.</p>.<p>RT and Sputnik's YouTube channels in Europe are being blocked "with immediate effect", YouTube said in an email to AFP.</p>.<p>The state-backed media organisations are considered mouthpieces of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime and stand accused of spreading misinformation about Moscow's war in Ukraine.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/un-seeks-17-billion-for-urgent-ukraine-aid-1086652.html">UN seeks $1.7 billion for urgent Ukraine aid </a></strong></p>.<p>YouTube's fellow online giant Facebook took a similar decision on Monday by blocking content published by RT and Sputnik in the European Union.</p>.<p>European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday announced they and their subsidiaries would be banned from broadcasting in the bloc for spreading "lies to justify Putin's war".</p>.<p>The EU's internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said the two organisation's exclusion would be decided on Tuesday, "whatever their distribution channel may be".</p>.<p>"It's a question of banning the Kremlin's media machine from the entire European Union," he told French radio station RTL on Tuesday, saying the measure would apply as soon as a decision was taken.</p>.<p>RT and Sputnik's YouTube channels were no longer viewable after the announcement on Tuesday morning and replaced with the message: "This channel is not available in your country".</p>.<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/not-being-allowed-to-board-train-from-kharkiv-indian-students-1086648.html" target="_blank">Not being allowed to board train from Kharkiv: Indian students</a></strong></p>.<p>Breton said the measure would be enforced under the bloc's new sanctions regime, but others have doubted the ban's legality.</p>.<p>"The question I'm asking myself is how a decision taken at the European level can be applied in the national law of each member state," Maxime Audinet, author of a book on RT, told AFP.</p>.<p>France is the only EU member to have an RT subsidiary with a broadcasting licence.</p>.<p>"Banning a media organisation is an unknown notion in law and difficult to understand when it concerns a French media outlet (RT France) with 100 French journalists on its books!" said RT France lawyer Basile Ader.</p>.<p>"This block on social media is an act of censorship pure and simple, with no legal basis," RT France said in a statement.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/russia-warns-kyiv-residents-ahead-of-attacks-on-intel-sites-1086655.html">Russia warns Kyiv residents ahead of attacks on intel sites</a></strong></p>.<p>Outside France, Audinet said a ban would concern RT's English and Spanish channels based in Moscow, which follow rules set by Russia's media regulator.</p>.<p>Germany suspended RT's German-language service in late 2021, contesting the Serbian licence is used for broadcasting.</p>.<p>The move against RT and Sputnik is the latest in a series of severe sanctions the West has imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.</p>.<p>These have included banning Russian planes from European airspace, freezing the assets of leading Russian businessmen and cutting off banks from the interbank messaging system SWIFT.</p>.<p>The sanctions are aimed at crippling the Russian economy and Moscow's ability to wage war, with the assault on Ukraine into its sixth day on Tuesday.</p>.<p>Russia's central bank hiked interest rates to 20 per cent and the ruble's value collapsed on Monday as Putin eyed emergency measures to weather the economic storm.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>YouTube has blocked Russia's RT and Sputnik in Europe over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the video-sharing platform said on Tuesday, as the European Union prepares to ban the state-backed broadcasters.</p>.<p>RT and Sputnik's YouTube channels in Europe are being blocked "with immediate effect", YouTube said in an email to AFP.</p>.<p>The state-backed media organisations are considered mouthpieces of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime and stand accused of spreading misinformation about Moscow's war in Ukraine.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/un-seeks-17-billion-for-urgent-ukraine-aid-1086652.html">UN seeks $1.7 billion for urgent Ukraine aid </a></strong></p>.<p>YouTube's fellow online giant Facebook took a similar decision on Monday by blocking content published by RT and Sputnik in the European Union.</p>.<p>European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday announced they and their subsidiaries would be banned from broadcasting in the bloc for spreading "lies to justify Putin's war".</p>.<p>The EU's internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said the two organisation's exclusion would be decided on Tuesday, "whatever their distribution channel may be".</p>.<p>"It's a question of banning the Kremlin's media machine from the entire European Union," he told French radio station RTL on Tuesday, saying the measure would apply as soon as a decision was taken.</p>.<p>RT and Sputnik's YouTube channels were no longer viewable after the announcement on Tuesday morning and replaced with the message: "This channel is not available in your country".</p>.<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/not-being-allowed-to-board-train-from-kharkiv-indian-students-1086648.html" target="_blank">Not being allowed to board train from Kharkiv: Indian students</a></strong></p>.<p>Breton said the measure would be enforced under the bloc's new sanctions regime, but others have doubted the ban's legality.</p>.<p>"The question I'm asking myself is how a decision taken at the European level can be applied in the national law of each member state," Maxime Audinet, author of a book on RT, told AFP.</p>.<p>France is the only EU member to have an RT subsidiary with a broadcasting licence.</p>.<p>"Banning a media organisation is an unknown notion in law and difficult to understand when it concerns a French media outlet (RT France) with 100 French journalists on its books!" said RT France lawyer Basile Ader.</p>.<p>"This block on social media is an act of censorship pure and simple, with no legal basis," RT France said in a statement.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/russia-warns-kyiv-residents-ahead-of-attacks-on-intel-sites-1086655.html">Russia warns Kyiv residents ahead of attacks on intel sites</a></strong></p>.<p>Outside France, Audinet said a ban would concern RT's English and Spanish channels based in Moscow, which follow rules set by Russia's media regulator.</p>.<p>Germany suspended RT's German-language service in late 2021, contesting the Serbian licence is used for broadcasting.</p>.<p>The move against RT and Sputnik is the latest in a series of severe sanctions the West has imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.</p>.<p>These have included banning Russian planes from European airspace, freezing the assets of leading Russian businessmen and cutting off banks from the interbank messaging system SWIFT.</p>.<p>The sanctions are aimed at crippling the Russian economy and Moscow's ability to wage war, with the assault on Ukraine into its sixth day on Tuesday.</p>.<p>Russia's central bank hiked interest rates to 20 per cent and the ruble's value collapsed on Monday as Putin eyed emergency measures to weather the economic storm.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>