A very partial list of finance, tech & media companies censoring or shutting down Russian operations

A very partial list of finance, tech & media companies censoring or shutting down Russian operations

Finance

  • PayPal – in a letter to Ukrainian Deputy PM Mykhailo Fedorov, PayPal announces they are “suspending PayPal services in Russia”
  • Visa – Cut off all Visa card transactions that cross Russian borders, meaning where the payer or payee is in Russia.
  • American Express – Non-Russian AmEx cards can’t be used in Russia; Cards issued by Russian banks can’t be used outside the country.
  • Mastercard – Similarly, Non-Russian Mastercard cards won’t work at Russian merchants or ATMs; Cards issued by Russian banks can’t be used outside the country.
  • Wise and Remitly – suspended service in Russia
  • Coinbase – The cryptocurrency exchange blocked 25,000 Russian accounts they claim are being used to evade sanctions. Don’t crypto advocates say that it’s supposed to be liberatory for everyone?

Tech

  • Cisco Systems – Cisco will stop all business operations in Russia, including the sales of its networking hardware as well as services to Russian companies.
  • Apple – Russians cannot buy Apple products or use the App Store. Apple Pay transactions have been cut off. The company has also removed RT and Sputnik ads from its App Store globally.
  • Google – The search engine and its properties (including YouTube) are not showing ads in the country. Media outlets including RT and Sputnik had already been prevented from running ads, and the company removed their apps. Google Pay is reportedly not functioning.
  • Microsoft – Suspended all sales in Russia
  • Blackberry – Suspended all business, including support and sales.
  • Cogent – Network provider cut off its Russian clients
  • Lumen – Another network provider has ended peering services to Russia

Gaming

  • EA Sports – removes Russian teams from their FIFA and NHL games

Media

  • Roku and DirecTV – Removed RT America from their listings. RT American shut its doors last week.
  • Spreaker – Removed Russian media stations from its platforms
  • Twitch – Stopped payments to Russian streamers
  • Spotify – Removed Russian media stations and content of people with any sort of ties to them.
  • YouTube – Removed Sputnik and RT content in some regions, prevents RT and others from monetizing their videos
  • Netflix – Suspends service in Russia

Social Media

  • Telegram – Blocked RT’s channel globally; Sputnik may be blocked in the EU.
  • Facebook, Twitter, and others – blocking access to RT & Sputnik due to EU sanctions.
  • Twitter – Continues its labeling “state-funded media,” and now adds warnings to links posted to RT and Sputnik.
  • TikTok – Blocks livestreaming and uploading of new content in Russia. And started adding “Russia state-controlled media” labels to content.

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