As many companies are wrapping up their operations in Russia as the country continues to launch its attacks on Ukraine, major companies Netflix and TikTok have also decided to get on the bandwagon and suspend their operations in the country.
A Netflix spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that the company has suspended its operations in Russia, keeping in mind the current situation. Earlier this week, Netflix temporarily stopped all future projects and acquisitions in Russia as it assessed the impact of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” the Netflix spokesperson said. Netflix had earlier said it had no plans to add state-run channels to its Russian service, despite a regulation that would require it to distribute state-backed channels.
Joining the long string of companies, social media platform TikTok also decided to suspend its live streaming option in Russia in midst of the country’s new “fake news” law, which is allegedly aimed at silencing information regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
In a series of tweets, TikTok announced, “We have no choice but to suspend live streaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law.” Apart from live streaming, new content on the app has also been restricted.
This comes as Russia’s new “fake news” laws state that anyone who writes something about the Russian military which is deemed fake can face up to 15 years in prison. The Kremlin has also refused to call the Ukraine crisis a war, instead, terming it as a “special military operation.”
Several other companies like Mastercard, Visa, Coca-Cola, Apple, and Payoneer have suspended their operations in Russia due to the current invasion of Ukraine. Further, the currency and stock market of Russia has also plummeted significantly over the last week, in view of the sanctions imposed by the UK, US, and EU.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine started towards the last week of February when the military crossed the Ukrainian border and launched a series of attacks in cities. The United Nations has announced that over 700 new civilian casualties have been recorded in Ukraine due to constant attacks.
