Evercore ISI Senior Managing Director Mark Mahaney talks about how Big Tech is helping Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Russian agents are reportedly prosecuting Google and Apple employees based in the country with jail time.
Agents apparently showed up at the door of the Google executive’s home in Moscow and demanded that he remove the app from his Google Play store at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to The Washington Post.
According to The Post sources, an Apple representative in Moscow faced similar threats.
A policeman checks his smartphone while on patrol at the entrance to the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow, Russia on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg (Getty Images)
Numerous major U.S.-based tech companies have taken disciplinary action against Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
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Google said on Thursday it is currently suspending the “vast majority” of commercial activity in Russia after announcing last week it would suspend Google advertising in the country. Russians can no longer sign up for Google Cloud, use Google payment services, or monetize YouTube channels with views originating in the country.
Apple has taken steps to restrict its payment service and suspended all product sales in Russia last week. Lines on the Moscow metro were reportedly reduced as Russians could no longer use Apple Pay to pay at train stations.
The latest iPhones can be viewed at re:Store in Moscow, Russia on March 5, 2022. Apple announced the termination of sales of all its products in Russia. (Photo by Sefa Karakan/Anadolu Agency) (Getty Images)
Other US tech companies, including Microsoft and IMB, as well as US credit card companies, have suspended operations in Russia.
Meanwhile, Putin has blocked Russians from accessing the American social networks Twitter and Meta, which own Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He also effectively shut down most independent news outlets and journalists in Russia in an attempt to control the narrative of his invasion of Ukraine.
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In 2021, Putin also enacted what is popularly referred to as the “hostage law,” essentially forcing foreign tech companies to keep employees at their headquarters in Russia to do business there.
Relations between the Russian government and US tech companies have become increasingly tense over the past two years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with members of the Russian government via teleconference in Moscow on March 10, 2022. (Photo by Mikhail KLIMENTIEV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Getty Images)
Last year, Apple and Google removed an app called Smart Voting, which organized opposition to Putin, ahead of September elections, after initially refusing to do so. Companies have faced similar pressure and threats from the Russian government to remove the app, according to the Financial Times.
Humanitarians and critics of Putin condemned the move. Then in February 2021, the Russian leader jailed opposition leader and app creator Alexei Navalny. Navalny was poisoned in 2020 and narrowly escaped death.
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Google and Apple say they comply with the laws of the foreign countries in which they operate. They also condemned global human rights violations.
The companies did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding the Post report.
Paul Best of FOX Business and The Associated Press contributed to this report.