Google has reportedly pulled its engineering team out of Russia. Though the Web giant has refused to give further details, it has not denied its decision to withdraw from the Russian nation. The move was allegedly due to the increasingly restrictive Internet democracy laws of Russia.
Google decided to pull out its engineering staff from Russia after the restrictive laws were passed by the country's parliament and were scheduled to take effect next year. As reported by The Register, the new law will force tech companies to keep all data about Russians inside the country's borders.
Though Google pulled out its engineering team from Russia to avoid the nation's increasingly restrictive Internet freedom regulations, some of the company's employees will stay to focus on sales, partnerships, user support, marketing and communications, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"We are deeply committed to our Russian users and customers and we have a dedicated team in Russia working to support them," a Google representative told PCMag.com through an email. However, the company's spokesman refused to specify how many staff members will be relocated or why, though speculations have pointed out to a new Russian law that will be enacted on 2015.
The Russian restrictive Internet democracy law requires data on local citizens to be stored in Russian information centers instead of facilities located in other nations. And Internet corporations that violate the law could face penalties. The regulations also need any blogger with over 3,000 readers to register with the state.
The controversial laws, which were passed in July, also affect Facebook, Twitter and other "organizers of information distribution," which meant President Putin's government has the right to remove "offensive" content from servers in Russia, besides anything that the state decides is in breach of election rules.
The news about Google's pulling out of Russia was first disclosed by The Information. The site added the people were informed by the company's decision. Earlier this month, it also revealed similar departure from other Western and Russian software companies and engineers.
In the Russian market, Google has a rising presence. Though the company just ranked second compared to Russian Web site Yandex, its market share is steadily increasing. However in 2013, the Financial Times reported that the Russian government has asked the Web giant to remove 253 links from its search engine in a six-month period.
Google with its various units have not only pulled out of Russia, but also been kicked out of, or face adverse restrictions in China, Spain, and the EU.
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