American tech companies, including Apple, Google and Facebook parent company, Meta, have taken steps this week to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Actions range from removing Russian news content to suspending sales in Russia to offering up encrypted direct messaging inside Ukraine.
Tech expert Omar Gallaga says many American companies have limited their business relationships with Russia, or announced initiatives to support Ukrainians.
Highlights from this segment include:
– RT News and Sputnik News, which receive substantial funding from the Russian government, have been banned in some European countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several platforms have also removed the channels, and Google and Apple have removed RT and Sputik apps from their app stores.
– Apple has suspended sales of its products, including the iPhone, in Russia, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced the company will make donations to Ukraine.
– Instagram, owned by Meta, has offered encrypted messaging services to users in Ukraine and Russia. Facebook has also said it will demote posts containing misinformation about the invasion coming from Russian sources.
