Western/American tech multinationals suspend most activities in Russia in protest of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine
Alphabet Inc. (Google parent company) has decided on the one hand to censor Russian media in its search media (Russia Today and Sputnik) and on the other to nip Russia’s advertising divide in the bud. The Russians demanded that Google not allow ads in articles that according to them “disinformed” about the war – So what Google did is not to complicate life and cut ads completely in Russian territory.
Microsoft stops selling most of its products in Russia, although it does not drop support for products it already has sold. A few days earlier, it also removed “Russia Today” apps from the Windows App Store.
They have also stated that they have actively sided with Ukraine and assisted the country neighboring Russia with cybersecurity matters.
The two consumer electronics giants have also withdrawn from Russia and have stopped selling all their products. Except for the Apple AppStore, which is still open for now.
American multinationals Cisco, Oracle, and Netflix have suspended all operations in Russia, and Sweden’s Spotify has done the same with its music streaming service.
Meanwhile, Airbnb has suspended all rentals in Russia and Belarus.
Those two American multinationals, along with the vast majority of Chinese companies, have not decided to take the step of joining the widespread trend of turning their backs on Russia following its illegal attack on another sovereign country.
Chinese multinationals such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and Alibaba (AliExpress) have not taken a stance and have declined to comment. Only TikTok (owned by Tencent) decided at the last minute to suspend video creation and live broadcasts in Russia. It also censored RT and Sputnik videos in the EU.
Calls are already circulating on social media to boycott all companies that fail to make some gesture against Russia.
