Google is set to close its engineering in Russia amid new regulations that require data on local citizens to be kept on servers within the country, IDG News Service reported.

An anonymous source with knowledge of the development told the agency about the planned move, though it was not immediately clear whether the Internet search giant was reacting to the legislation.

The company has a track record of moving engineering teams from one country, the source said, though the adapted Russian rules would still apply because they are focused on content.

"We are deeply committed to our Russian users and customers and we have a dedicated team in Russia working to support them," a Google spokesman noted in an email sent Thursday. He would not confirm the closure of the engineering unit, however.

Regulators have caused trouble for Google in a number of countries, IDG reported. On Wednesday, the company said it would be closing its Google News portal in Spain, where a news intellectual-property law would require it to pay for the use of the content beginning in January.

"This new legislation requires every Spanish publication to charge services like Google News for showing even the smallest snippet," Richard Gingras, a senior director of Google News, explained in a statement Thursday, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The company also partially left China in 2010 when it refused to give in to censorship demands imposed by the country's Communist rulers, IDG said. Google also said then that it had encountered cyber attacks targeting the accounts of human-rights activists. Visitors have since been redirected to Google's Hong Kong site.

About 50 employees would be affected by the shutdown of the Russian engineering office, Tech Times reported. Google will offer them an option to relocate and work for the company in a different location, the website added. Other departments, such as sales and support, would not be affected and continue to operate in Russia.

Google still has plans to increase its business investment in Russia next year, Tech Times detailed. The company is the No. 2 search engine in the country; rival Yandex, which has a market share of some 60 percent, dominates the market.