Netflix is one of the leading streaming services.
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The war against Ukraine is also a war against western media. The recent change in the law to spread alleged false information about Russian armed forces, which is punishable by heavy fines and up to 15 years in prison, also affects the business of the digital companies. Netflix, TikTok and Spotify then restrict their services. up to the retreat.
Initially, it was classic TV channels such as CNN, BBC, ARD and ZDF that stopped reporting from Russia due to the new restrictions. The American streaming service Netflix is now announcing that it will phase out its activities.
As of today, new registrations in Russia are no longer possible, existing customers can still access the offer until the next monthly installment. Then it’s over. As a result, Netflix will lose around one million customers in the medium term, according to the business news portal Bloomberg. In addition, four newly emerging Russian Netflix series productions will be halted indefinitely.
The clip network TikTok announced on Sunday that it would restrict its service due to the legal situation. Live streaming is now impossible in Russia, as is uploading new content. You have no other choice, said an official Twitter statement. In contrast to the other digital companies, TikTok is not based in the USA, but belongs to the Chinese tech group ByteDance.
The Russian authorities could block Spotify at any time with reference to the violation of the law
The Swedish music streaming service Spotify, on the other hand, has closed its Moscow office and banned all state channels such as Russia Today and Sputnik from the platform. Spotify no longer meets the requirements of the Russian government. According to this, foreign social media companies with a daily user volume of half a million must have an office and editorial office on site. The Russian authorities could block Spotify at any time with reference to the violation of the law.
“We are witnessing the end of independent media in Russia. Around 144 million people are cut off from outside sources of information and have to rely on government-sanctioned news. In China we have been able to see the result for some time. The end of freedom of expression,” says a recent newsletter on the business news portal Bloomberg.