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| Netflix and Tik Tok are Russia's newest boycott |
Netflix has suspended service in Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine, joining a growing list of companies that have severed ties with Russia. "Due to the local situation, we have decided to suspend service in Russia," a company spokesman said in a statement.
The company said last week that it would not comply with a new Russian law requiring major broadcasters to host 20 Russian advertising channels.
The broadcasting giant later announced that it would stop all production and acquisitions in Russia. Netflix was working on four original Russian shows at the time.
Netflix launched its service in Russia in 2016. But it has a relatively small number of users in the country, around one million users. Although he has 222 million subscribers worldwide. It operates the service through a joint venture with Russia's State Media Group.
Netflix isn't the only major company to cut ties with Russia. Other movie giants like Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures are releasing new movies like Batman, Go Red and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in Russian cinemas.
Microsoft, Apple, Google and Samsung have also halted sales in the country, to name a few.
Netflix suspends service in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine
TikTok has suspended new video uploads and live broadcasts on its Russian app, citing the country's new fake news law as the reason for the change.
"Given the new law on fake news in Russia, we have no choice but to suspend live broadcasts and new content from our video service while assessing the security implications of the law," TikTok wrote on Twitter. The in-app messaging service is not affected. .
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Fake News Act last week. Anyone who spreads false information about the Russian military or publicly calls for sanctions against Russia faces up to 15 years in prison.
As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, it has begun cracking down on social platforms and foreign media. The country banned Facebook, restricted access to Twitter and blocked access to the BBC news website.
Last week, Russia's communications agency Roskomnadzor asked TikTok to remove state-sponsored content from its platform.
TikTok later announced plans to name some of the state-controlled media outlets. This would have made it more difficult for users to access Russian state media. This is in line with the initiatives of Facebook, YouTube and many other media outlets.
"We will continue to assess developments in Russia to determine when our services can be fully restored, with safety being our top priority," TikTok said.