With global observers weary of the emergence of another world war, calls have been made for ceasefire, with negotiations and peace talks in the offing.
Russia, largely seen as the villain by the majority of the western world has had it hit by International sanctions, the closure of its airspace and transports links occasioned by the war. The restrictions placed on SWIFTS and capital controls made it almost impossible for hosts of companies to supply parts, make payment and deliver goods to and from Russia.
The Western powerhouses, the US, the EU and the U.K. have all imposed economic sanctions on Russia, who has largely been seen as the aggressor.
Tech-companies are not left out of the conversation as they have responded in other ways to the warfare and this included the cracking down on misinformation. Some of them have taken a step further by reducing the online presence of Russian government-owned media outlets like RT News and Sputnik News.
Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, while issuing a plea to tech companies, urged them to turn up the heat on Russia, in the process whipping up a social media campaign to that effect.
Different tech companies have lent their voice against the invasion of Russia by Ukraine with many of them halting/suspending operation in the Putin-led country.
We are compiling the tech companies who have stopped business with Russia at the moment, with the list having the tendency to grow fatter with time.
Here is the list.
Adobe
Multinational computer Software Company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California, Adobe in solidarity with Ukraine has announced the halt of all new sales in Russia citing what it called the “unlawful war” being waged in Ukraine. The American company also cut off access to its cloud services (Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Document Cloud, and Adobe Experience Cloud) for Russia’s government-controlled media outlets.
“Over the past several days, we have continued to witness unprovoked, violent attacks on Ukraine and the tragic loss of innocent lives. The images are horrifying and heart breaking. As we see this tragedy unfold, we believe we have a responsibility to ensure our products and services are not used in support of this unlawful war.
The Photoshop and other software maker while justifying its decision said it will be complying with EU, US, and UK sanctions to ensure that none of its products and services were being used by “prohibited entities.”
Apple
Apple, also an American multinational technology company like Adobe has announced the suspension of all product sales in Russia, in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The consumer electronics and software in a statement said:
“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence.”
The tech company while outlining its actions against Russia, including the halt of online transactions (including limiting Apple Pay), also stopped all exports into its sales channels in Russia.
The company also announced that the Russian state media, RT News and Sputnik News, will no longer available for download from the Apple Store outside Russia.
Microsoft
Software maker, Microsoft has announced the halt of its product and services sales in Russia, noting that it has suspended other aspects of its business in the country to comply with government sanctions.
The President of Microsoft, Brad Smith in a statement said:
“Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organisations”.
Brad Smith in the company’s blog post added that the tech firm will be “coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions”.
Microsoft also pledged to up the cybersecurity game in Ukraine to defend against cyber-attacks initiated by Russia.
Meta also said it had uncovered a “relatively small” network of around 40 accounts, pages and groups posing as news outlets and using fake identities on Facebook and Instagram.
According to Meta Inc, the network, run by people based in Russia and Ukraine, created profiles on YouTube, Telegram, Russian Facebook equivalent VKontakte and Meta’s own platforms in order to promote websites that published “claims about the West betraying Ukraine and Ukraine being a failed state.”
Ad revenue from YouTube, search and all other forms of Google-sponsored marketing have been halted in Russia with Google announcing that it had already blocked ads related to the conflict because it did not want people to take advantage of the crisis for financial gain.
The company had earlier suspended advertising of content produced by Russian state media.
Dell
Dell Technologies Inc. in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, has suspended product sales in Russia, with the Texas-based company saying it was monitoring the situation to determine its next steps while it works to assist employees affected by the conflict.
HP Inc
HP Inc. the largest supplier of PCs to Russia while aligning with U.S. sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, has suspended product shipments to Russia, while it also halted advertising there.
The CEO of HP, Enrique Lores, at the Q1 2022 earnings conference call with investors said the company was preparing for “a range of scenarios” prompted by the conflict. “The well-being of our people, their families and our customers and partners is our top concern,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to keep them safe.”
Intel
California based Multinational Corporation and Technology Company, in a statement on its website says it condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and has therefore suspended all shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus, including chips.
“Intel condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and we have suspended all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by this war, including the people of Ukraine and the surrounding countries and all those around the world with family, friends and loved ones in the region”, part of the statement reads.
But in spite of its export embargo on Russia, the company will still operate its local factories there.
A Samsung company official had said in reaction to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that: “Shipments to Russia have been suspended due to the current geopolitical situation. The next step will be decided after careful monitoring of the complex situation”.
Oracle
Computer software company, Oracle Corp also joined a list of tech companies halting its operations in Russia as it announced the suspension of all company’s operations in the country. The suspension will reflect in all sales and operations.
Cisco Systems Inc
The Networking hardware company has suspended business operations in Russia and Belarus. Chief Executive of the company, Chuck Robbins told staff in a letter Thursday that “Cisco is stopping all business operations in Russia and Belarus and will continue to focus on supporting our Ukrainian employees, customers and partners while providing humanitarian aid and accelerating our efforts to protect organizations in Ukraine from cyber threats. We stand with Ukraine and condemn this unjustified war.”
VMware
The cloud-computing company says it has suspended sales/support to sanctioned customers, and blocked license delivery to partners.
According to the company, “the suspension of operations includes suspension of all sales, support, and professional services in both countries in line with VMware’s commitment to comply with sanctions and restrictions”.
The subscription streaming service and Production Company, which has no fewer than one million customers in Russia has been operating in the country in synch with National Media Group.
Netflix had previously announced that it won’t be carrying required Russian news channels on its local-language service in the country, while pausing all projects and acquisitions from Russia, including four programs in production.
TikTok
Video-focused social networking service, TikTok has said it would stop airing Russian state TV channels and later announced that it would block livestreaming and uploading of new content in Russia because of Russia’s new “fake news” law aimed at silencing dissent and limiting information about the invasion of Ukraine.
“We have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” TikTok announced in a series of tweets. “The safety of our employees and our users remain our highest priority.”
Mastercard and Visa
Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s biggest payment and credit card companies have blocked Russian banks and financial institutions from their networks following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The move follows several sanctions and actions that have been issued and taken against Russia.
The company and its executives failed to elaborate on what it means by “it is suspending its operations in Russia”. The move may, however, not significantly affect Airbnb as Russia has been receiving fewer and fewer inward flights – the majority of airlines have stopped flying to Russia following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
PayPal
On Saturday, global payments giants PayPal joined the list of companies that have taken action against Russia. The company announced the suspension of its services in Russia. The company’s CEO – Dan Schulman wrote in a letter addressed to the Ukrainian government that “Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia.”
Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation – Mykhailo Fedorov have been urging companies around the world to cut ties with Russia. He urged cryptocurrency platforms, social media companies, and even financial companies to take action against Russia. Following PayPal’s decision to block Russia from its platform, the government official tweeted on Saturday “So now it’s official: PayPal shuts down its services in Russia citing Ukraine aggression. “Thank you @PayPal for your supporting!”
Other tech companies who have put a halt to their services in Russia include:
ADP: The management services company has stopped serving clients headquartered in Russia.
AMD: The semiconductor company says it has put sanctions in place to prevent chip sales in Russia.
Aruba Networks: The California-based wireless networking subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise has suspended shipments to Russia.
Epicor: The software company has suspended product sales and operations in Russia.
Micron: The computer memory and computer data storage producer has halted all shipments to Russia and Ukraine..
Pure Storage: The all-flash data storage hardware and software products developer has suspended shipments in support services to Russia.
SAP: The German multinational software corporation has suspended sales in Russia.
SAS: The analytics software developer has suspended all business operations in Russia.
Supermicro: The information technology company has pressed pause on all its sales and shipments to Russia.
Veeam: The US-based information technology company has suspended sales in Russia.
Note: TechBooky is cognizant of the likelihood of the list increasing as other tech companies join the fray, we will be updating the list as they come.
Ayoola Faseyi, an Abuja based Journalist with interest in Technology and Politics. He is a versatile writer with articles in many renowned News Journals.
He is the Co-Founder of media brand, The Vent Republic.
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