Netflix, TikTok Suspend Services in Russia

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and TikTok have become the latest tech companies to cut ties with Russia, withdrawing their services from the country following the invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s subsequent crackdown on fake news.

Netflix on Sunday announced it halted services in Russia, joining the growing list of tech firms distancing themselves from the country amid the conflict in Ukraine. “Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” said a spokesperson for Netflix. The latest announcement comes one week after the company said it would pause “all future projects and acquisitions from Russia” in order to gauge the trajectory of current events.

Netflix is relatively new to Russia, only launching its services in the country in 2016. Of the approximately 200 million subscribers the streaming company has globally, Russia accounts for about 1 million of them.

TikTok also on Sunday said it will stop Russian users from posting content on its platform, due to Moscow’s crackdown on fake news. Late last week, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor announced a ban on independent social media and news sites in an effort to limit the stream of Western information into the country. The ban was part of the Kremlin’s new “fake news” law, which calls for up to 15 years in prison for anyone making misleading statements about the conflict in Ukraine.

TikTok said it will suspend livestreaming options and halt new posting for users in Russia, in an effort to better assess the implications of the country’s recently-imposed law. “We will continue to evaluate the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we might fully resume our services with safety as our top priority,” TikTok said in a statement over the weekend.

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