Russia-Ukraine crisis: Netflix may be forced to show Putin propoganda

The impact of Russia-Ukraine crisis has not left big tech giants away. U.S. streaming giant Netflix is facing the prospect of being forced to broadcast Kremlin propaganda from March 1st as part of new obligations in Russia.

The move comes as fears increase in the West over how Moscow is leveraging media to sow confusion amid its ongoing war on Ukraine.

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Russia’s mass communications watchdog, Roscomnadzor, has registered Netflix as an audiovisual service. Beginning in March, Netflix will be required to stream 20 pro- Russian state television channels.

The new broadcast requirements are applicable only to Netflix’s services in Russia, where it has an estimated subscriber base of close to 1 million, based on figures from the firm that manages Netflix's affairs in Russia.

Despite the anticipated reticence of Netflix to abandon the Russian market, other authoritarian jurisdictions worldwide have deterred the streaming giant from entering local markets. Netflix services are already unavailable in China, Crimea, North Korea and Syria.