Snapchat halts ad Sales to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

Snapchat is the latest in a series of tech giants that impose sanctions on Russia by stopping the sale of ads in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. 

The social networking platform announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it will stop serving all ads in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and will not accept revenue from Russian state-owned entities. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Snapchat does not have an office in Russia, but "complies with all sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals."

The company said that it stands in solidarity with its team in Ukraine and the offices in Russia but the platform is complying with all sanctions targeting Russian businesses and individuals. It further said the company is praying for the safety of its team members.

Ukraine has 300 Snapchat employees. The company said it will continue to offer apps in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus as an "essential communication tool" for family and friends. However, he states that he will continue to "carefully" monitor the platform to prevent and remove false information and misuse.

It also promised $ 15 million in humanitarian assistance to support organizations that support Ukrainian people and provided emergency assistance to ensure the safe transfer of its team members.

This move happens as many large companies have introduced restrictions in solidarity with Ukraine. The European Union, along with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, bans and limits Russian state media Russia Today and Sputnik. This is the most serious penalty ever imposed on media companies.