According to ABC 7, Netflix suspended most of its services in Russia on Sunday as the government cracks down what people can or can’t say about the current conflict with Ukraine. Other companies such as TikTok and American Express have also suspended services in the country.
Netflix did not specify on why they suspended services in Russia except that it only reflected “circumstances on the ground,” according to ABC 7. The streaming service have previously said that they refused to air Russian state TV channels.
Other entertainments and media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have also blocked services in Russia in a move to isolate the country. More companies are likely to pull the plug on Russia as a result of the outrage over the Ukraine invasion.
Russian President Valdmir Putin has intensified crackdowns on media outlets and people who fail to take Moscow’s side in the matter. Social media outlets have been blocked in the country as Putin signed a law that criminalizes the intentional spreading of what the country deems “fake news”. Sentences are said to be up to 15 years.
Multiple news outlets have also threatened to pause their operations in Russia to elevate the situation. According to ABC, Russian authorities have repeatedly and falsely decried reports of Russian military setbacks and civilian deaths in Ukraine as “fake news”. Russian outlets have referred to the invasion as a “special military operation.”
Russia has been increasingly isolated since the invasion, closing itself off from the outside sources of information as service cutoff negatively affects its economy.