Netflix, TikTok block services in Russia to avoid crackdown

Netflix and TikTok have suspended most of their services in Russia, as the government there cracks down on what people and media outlets can say about Russia’s war in Ukraine

Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia on Sunday as the government cracks down on what people and media outlets can say about Russia's war in Ukraine.

TikTok said Russian users of its popular social media app would no longer be able to post new videos or livestreams and they also wouldn’t be able to see videos shared from elsewhere in the world.

Netflix said it was suspending its service in Russia but didn't provide additional details.

The actions are likely to further isolate the country and its people after a growing number of multinational businesses have cut off Russia from vital financial services, technology and a variety of consumer products in response to Western economic sanctions and global outrage over the invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. credit card companies Visa, Mastercard and American Express all said over the weekend they would cut service in Russia. South Korea's Samsung Electronics, a major supplier of both smartphones and computer chips, said it would halt product shipments to the country, joining other big tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Dell.

But providers of internet-based services and apps had been mostly reluctant to take actions that could deprive Russian citizens of social media services and other sources of information.

That changed Friday when Russian President Vladimir Putin intensified a crackdown on media outlets and individuals who fail to hew to the Kremlin line on the war, blocking Facebook and Twitter and signing into law a bill that criminalizes the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be “fake” reports.