Russia's decision to go ahead with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine has been met with varying degrees of opposition. While the U.S. and its allies have imposed severe economic sanctions against Russia, others have responded by breaking off ties with them.
Some of the action against Russia has come from other nations. Several U.S. and international companies are taking measures to hit back against Russia.
These actions range from something seemingly mild as an official note of condemnation from senior company executives to significant decisions that include dialing down operations in Russia and, in some cases, backing out of deals that could have million-dollar financial implications.
Let's take a closer look at the measures that some of the major tech companies have taken against Russia.
Less than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, Apple almost completely shut down its business in Russia, save for the App Store, which still works for Apple users in Russia. Apple's website in Russia no longer sells products, and all Apple imports to Russia remain suspended. The official apps of R.T. News and Sputnik have been disabled.
In Russia, Apple Pay is almost completely non-functional, and it was fairly popular. Tim Cook has condemned Russia's decision to invade Ukraine.
The company has taken several measures against Russian state-owned media outlets by demonetizing them. This means that these outlets can no longer make money from ads on their videos on YouTube. The demonetization drive has affected several pro-Russian channels.
Several of the pro-Russian videos on YouTube have been removed due to the fact that they were spreading misinformation.
There is a payment service in Russia that has been shut down.
Meta, the parent company of social media platforms like Facebook, was one of the first to take action against Russia. Nathaniel Gleicher, the company's Head of Security Policy, announced that they would not allow Russian state media to monetize their Facebook pages.
In a post on its website, Meta announced that it has rolled out a feature for Ukrainian citizens that will allow them to lock their Facebook profiles. The company removed the ability to search friends lists for Ukrainian accounts. Users of Facebook Messenger now get a notification if a disappearing message is screenshotted. Meta says it is taking steps to prevent the spread of misinformation on its platforms. These steps are in addition to demoting posts that have links to Russian state-controlled media. State-owned media are also labeled as such.
On March 4, 2022, Russia announced it would block access to the platform in response to Meta's action.
Microsoft acted against Russian state-owned outlets after the invasion of Ukraine. Russia Today and Sputnik News were removed from the Windows App Store. The decision to de-rank the search results of these two outlets was made after this. Microsoft stopped running ads for the Russian state media.
On March 4, 2022, Microsoft announced that they were suspending all new sales in Russia. Chances are that the average Russian Microsoft consumer will face issues with services like Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft365. Russia's large and active box gaming community is also likely to be affected by this move.
If the current situation doesn't improve, Microsoft may take additional steps.
Intel joined the list of companies that have taken action against Russia. The chipmaker confirmed that it will stop shipments to Russia immediately. Intel has added a key Russian ally to its list. The company will raise funds for relief efforts in Ukraine.
The sale of its products in Russia will be stopped on March 4, 2022. As a key ally of Russia in the ongoing conflict, Belarus has been added to the ban list.
While the company has yet to officially announce the development via its website or social channels, a representative has confirmed the development in an e-mailed response to PC World.
The company is suspending its sales and distribution of its products into Russia due to sanctions placed on Russia by the United States and other nations.
The impact of any actions on Russia's behalf by Amazon would be minimal. Amazon used its excellent logistics capabilities to get supplies to Ukrainians in need. Up to $10 million will be donated by Amazon to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in Russia. Russia Today and Sputnik, Russia's state-owned media outlets, have their TikTok accounts blocked by the ByteDance-owned social media platform.
While the company no longer makes smartphones, it is still a well-known security software and it is ceasing all business activities in Russia.
Even though the company doesn't have an official presence in Russia, its cars are very popular. Following Russia's decision to invade Ukraine, there have been calls for the disabling of all of the cars in Russia. It would make the lives of ordinary Russian citizens miserable if it were allowed. All of its Superchargers located in Ukraine are free to use.
The company that hogged the headlines was Musk's other company, which sent over a shipment of its Starlink receiver to enable satellite internet to Ukrainian users. With the nearest base station for Starlink located in Poland, it is not certain if the satellite-based internet connection would work in all of Ukraine.
There isn't a lot of presence in Russia by the streaming giant. The company has stopped all future projects in the country, including the filming of an ongoing Russian language series called Zato.
Several names in the gaming industry have reacted to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. E.A. confirmed that it would remove the Russian team from the games. 11 Bit Studios pledged a share of its income from this week to the Ukrainian Red Cross. G.S.C. Game World is seeking donations to send to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The list of tech companies that are boycotting Russia will only increase in the coming days, as it is too early to gauge the effects of these actions against Russia.
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