The music platform Spotify announced on Friday that it will discontinue all its services in Russia because recent laws restricting media freedom could endanger both its employees and its listeners.
In a press release, the Swedish company, which in addition to music offers a whole range of podcasts with political content, said that it expects to complete the suspension of all its services by the end of April.
The announcement of the total suspension comes after Spotify notified of the closure of its Russian office at the beginning of the month and days later canceled its paid service, offering only the free one.
“Spotify still believes that it is vitally important to try to keep our services in Russia operational to provide independent news and information in the region,” the statement begins.
“Unfortunately, recently passed legislation that restricts access to information, eliminates freedom of expression and criminalizes certain types of news puts the safety of Spotify workers and possibly our listeners at risk,” the text adds.
Other big tech companies, including Google and Apple, have stopped offering certain services in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, as well as several banks and iconic US companies such as McDonald's and Starbucks.
As a result of laws passed in Russia restricting information about the invasion of Ukraine, several media outlets temporarily suspended their activity in the country, including the BBC or EFE, while others reduced their presence, such as CNN or the New York Times.
With information from EFE
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