The Netflix movie and series streaming service has been in the spotlight of Russian authorities for a long time. The American company was ordered by Roskomnadzor to open local offices in Russia, to allow access to live streaming of all state TV stations to its subscribers, but also to properly mark the age limits for the content it offers (especially in the case of content which included LGBTQ + characters. All of this was problematic for Netflix, but the war in Ukraine led to the shutdown of services in that country.
Netflix streaming service has stopped providing services in Russia
More than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, Netflix has decided to shut down services in that country. However, this result would probably have occurred even if the American company did nothing about it. One week ago, representatives of Netflix announced that the service would not comply with Russian law, which requires all large streaming services to broadcast state-run propaganda channels on a subscription basis.
“Due to current circumstances, we have decided to suspend our services in Russia.”Netflix representatives said.
With the shutdown of services in Russia, Netflix stopped all other operations it had. It seems that Netflix was working on several original productions with actors and directors from Russia. The company was also in talks with studios and television stations for the acquisition of existing content, such as movies and series that were released in theaters or aired on TV.
Netflix had a million subscriber base in Russia at the time the decision was made, but it is not the only company to give up a large fan base. Other film companies such as Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony have announced that they will no longer release new films in Russian cinemas. In fact, technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple and Samsung have also announced that they will no longer sell products and services in the country.
Russia, too, has begun blocking US services. Facebook and Twitter are two of the most important. However, it is rumored that this week Russia will implement its digital isolation system, which will completely disconnect Russia from the Internet, while keeping all local servers running. Thus, banking and internal communication will be able to remain active. However, Russian citizens will no longer have access to the Internet on sites outside the country, while other countries will no longer be able to access Russian servers.
source: The Verge