Russia tightens grip on media landscape as Yandex sells homepage, news to rival VK

VK

23/08/2022 08:20

* This content was produced in Russia where the law
restricts
coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

    MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Russia's leading internet firm
Yandex  YNDX.O  on Tuesday said it had agreed to sell its news
aggregator and yandex.ru homepage to state-controlled rival VK
 VKCOq.L , a dramatic move that will likely further limit
Russians' access to independent media. 
    The all-share deal, in which Yandex will acquire 100% of
food delivery service Delivery Club, marks a significant shift
in Russia's internet landscape, with Yandex effectively passing
the reins that steer the distribution of online content to a
Kremlin-friendly actor.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SO3IY
    Moscow's years-long suppression of independent media sharply
intensified after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into
Ukraine on Feb. 24, passing a law banning what it calls "false
information" about Russia's armed forces and quashing many
organisations' ability to broadcast freely. 
    "The board and management of Yandex have concluded that the
interests of the company's stakeholders...are best served by
pursuing the strategic exit from its media businesses and
shifting to a focus on other technologies and services," Yandex
said in a statement. 
    Nasdaq-listed Yandex, often referred to as "Russia's
Google", has complied in recent years with Moscow's demands and
the threat of fines over which publications' stories can feature
on its news aggregator, drawing criticism over its effect on
media freedom.
    Yandex restricts access to sites, many of which are
independent media, that have been banned by communications
regulator Roskomnadzor, and in February started warning Russian
users seeking information about events in Ukraine of unreliable
information online.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2V03JG
    A former head of Yandex News, Lev Gershenzon, on March 1
described Yandex as a key element in hiding information about
the conflict in Ukraine. Yandex has denied being complicit in
censorship. 
    "We are buying our freedom," a source close to Yandex said.
"This business had been such a weight on our feet.
    "This will enable us to do our business significantly
depoliticised, practically completely depoliticised." 

 (Reporting by Reuters, editing by Ed Osmond)