Google has confirmed that it has temporarily disabled some Google Maps features that provide live information about traffic conditions and places in Ukraine.
Reporting from Reuters (28/2), the company disabled Ukrainian traffic and crowd information in places such as shops and restaurants. This is done globally for the safety of local communities in the country, after consultation with sources such as regional authorities.
As is known, Ukraine is facing attacks from Russian troops who invaded the country last Thursday. When the missiles fell on Ukrainian cities, nearly 400,000 civilians, mainly women and children, fled to neighboring countries. Russia called its actions against Ukraine a “special operation.”
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Several tech giants including Google said they were taking new steps to protect the safety of users in the region. According to a report by a professor at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Google Maps helped him track a “traffic jam” that was actually Russia’s movement towards the border hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the attack.
However, Google says live traffic information is still available to drivers using navigation features in the area.
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In addition to Google, Twitter has previously reportedly suspended ads and recommendations in both Ukraine and Russia to avoid misinformation.
Twitter did not indicate how long this move would take, but said it was part of ongoing work to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
