The situation in Russia is already public knowledge and the country will have to cope without many companies. Since the Russia – Ukraine crisis commenced, a lot of technology companies have been at the cross-roads. Many are forced to join the bandwagon in pulling out of Russia. Others are forced to pull out due to the restrictions from their parent nations. The latest company to pull out of Russia is Spotify. The company claims to be pulling out because of new laws that concernsĀ information and free expression.
Although the decision by Spotify to pull out of Russia is official, it wont take effect until early April. This is because there are some operational steps that it needs to see through. According to the company, the decision to suspend its operations in Russia is a very difficult one.
The report from iMore claims that Spotify wants to be independent and trusted.Ā A spokesperson toldĀ iMore:
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“Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try and keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information in the region. Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and criminalizing certain types of news puts the safety of Spotify’s employees and possibly even our listeners at risk. After carefully considering our options and the current circumstances, we have come to the difficult decision to fully suspend our service in Russia.”
Major firms have been pulling out of Russia
Spotify will not be the first company to pull out of Russia since the inception of the crisis. Apple no longer sells its products in the country and it is limiting Apple Pay operations in Russia. Despite this, a huge part of Apple’s business in Russia remains active.
Earlier this month, Spotify had to remove some Russian-media contents from its platform. It claims that these contents were disinformation. The company eventually closed its offices in Russia. Of course, removing Russian-media content from its platform means that a ban from the Russian market is imminent. However, Spotify said
“We think it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information.”
However, in all of this, Spotify seems to be very careful. The company reiterates that it is only suspending its operations in Russia. This means that it is open to a return sometime in the future. Along with Apple Music, Spotify is one of theĀ best iPhone apps for streaming music.
