Spotify closes office in Russia, removes state-sponsored content

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Spotify said on Wednesday it has shut down its office in Russia and removed Russian state-sponsored content from its service.

"We have closed our office in Russia until further notice," the Swedish audio streaming service said in a statement, adding that the decision was a result of Russia's "unprovoked attack against Ukraine."

The Stockholm-based company said it also examined "thousands of podcast episodes since the start of the war" and limited users' access to podcasts run by Russian state-sponsored media outlets.

It, however, added that its service will continue to be available to Russian users. "We believe that it is of utmost importance that our service is available in Russia to allow a global flow of information," it said.

Spotify had opened a representative office in Russia to comply with Moscow’s new rules. Foreign internet companies with a daily audience of more than 500,000 users are mandated open their authorized representative offices in Russia.

Major social media companies including YouTube, Facebook and TikTok have also banned Russian state media outlets in Europe.