BRUSSELS: Alphabet Inc. and YouTube should ban users pushing war propaganda as part of measures to stop disinformation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told the chief executives of the two companies on Sunday.
Alphabet’s Google on Saturday barred Russia’s state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine.
In a video call with Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Breton said the two companies should go further.
“Freedom of expression does not cover war propaganda. For too long, content from Russia Today and other Russian state media has been amplified by algorithms and proposed as ‘recommended content’ to people who had never requested it,” Breton said in a statement.
“War propaganda should never be recommended content — what is more, it should have no place on online platforms at all. I count on the tech industry to take urgent and effective measures to counter disinformation,” he said.
Breton said the companies’ terms and conditions for users should be expanded to include war propaganda, giving them the power to kick violators off their platforms.
The Commission said there was agreement to adapt and update the platforms’ policies in view of the current situation.
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova also took part in the video call.
Google said it had already taken unprecedented steps to halt disinformation on Ukraine.
“As we said to the Commissioners, our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock and are ready to take further action,” a Google spokesperson said.
Banning accounts promoting war propaganda could be problematic, however, because of the difficulty of defining what constitutes propaganda and from whose perspective.a
EU’s Breton wants Google, YouTube to ban war propaganda accounts
https://arab.news/ng5pr
EU’s Breton wants Google, YouTube to ban war propaganda accounts
- Breton said the companies’ terms and conditions for users should be expanded to include war propaganda
Trending: BBC report suggests sexual abuse and torture in UAE-run Yemeni prisons
- The investigation was produced by British-Yemeni BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi
LONDON: A recent BBC video report diving into what it says was UAE-run prison in Yemen has drawn widespread attention online and raised fresh questions about the role of the emirates in the war-torn country.
The report, published earlier this month and recently subtitled in Arabic and shared on social media, alleged that the prison — located inside a former UAE military base — was used to detain and torture detainees during interrogations, including using sexual abuse as a method.
The investigation was produced by British-Yemeni BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi, who toured the site, looking into cells and what appear to be interrogation rooms.
Al-Maghafi said the Yemeni government invited the BBC team to document the facilities for the first time.
A former detainee, speaking anonymously, described severe abuse by UAE soldiers: “When we were interrogated, it was the worst. They even sexually abused us and say they will bring in the doctor. The ‘so-called’ doctor was an Emirati soldier. He beat us and ordered the soldiers to beat us too. I tried to kill myself multiple times to make it end.”
Yemeni information minister, Moammar al Eryani also appears in the report, clarifying that his government was unable to verify what occurred within sites that were under Emirati control.
“We weren’t able to access locations that were under UAE control until now,” he said, adding that “When we liberated it (Southern Yemen), we discovered these prisons, even though we were told by many victims that these prisons exist, but we didn't believe it was true.”
زارت بي بي سي مواقع داخل قواعد سابقة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة في اليمن، حيث يقول محتجزون إنهم تعرضوا لسوء المعاملة. pic.twitter.com/BfS5GRxULp
— BBC News عربي (@BBCArabic) January 23, 2026
The BBC says it approached the UAE government for comment, however Abu Dhabi did not respond to its inquiries.
Allegations of secret detention sites in southern Yemen are not new. The BBC report echoes earlier reporting by the Associated Press (AP), which cited hundreds of men detained during counterterrorism operations that disappeared into a network of secret prisons where abuse was routine and torture severe.
In a 2017 investigation, the AP documented at least 18 alleged clandestine detention sites — inside military bases, ports, an airport, private villas and even a nightclub — either run by the UAE or Yemeni forces trained and backed by Abu Dhabi.
The report cited accounts from former detainees, relatives, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials.
Following the investigation, Yemen’s then-interior minister called on the UAE to shut down the facilities or hand them over, and said that detainees were freed in the weeks following the allegations.
The renewed attention comes amid online speculation about strains between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen.
