abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

The content is also available in the following languages: 日本語

Article

28 Feb 2022

Author:
Sam Nussey, Reuters

Russia: Japan's tech co. Rakuten removes ads from messaging service in Ukraine & Russia, but will not block service in Russia

"Japan's Rakuten removes ads from Viber app in Russia and Ukraine, won't block service" 28 February 2022

Japan’s Rakuten Group said it is removing advertising from its Viber messaging service in Ukraine and Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but said it won’t block the service in Russia as requested by Kyiv.

The move is to “ensure that no-one will profit from activity on our app at this time” Rakuten said in a statement dated Sunday, adding that it has made “Viber Out” calls to landlines and mobile phones in 34 countries free for users in the region.

[...]

Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Rakuten to block Viber service in Russia in a letter posted on Twitter, along with similar requests to companies such as Facebook-owner Meta Platforms.

“Blocking our service in Russia or any other country will harm the people of Ukraine by preventing free, private and secure communication,” Rakuten said in the statement [...].

Viber, which launched in 2010 and was acquired by e-commerce firm Rakuten in 2014, is entrenched in the region with 97% of Ukrainian smartphone owners using the app.

[...]

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.