The new US sanctions package prohibits companies and legal entities from providing IT services in Russia. Restrictions also affected a number of companies from the PRC. The corresponding document aimed at "ending the dependence of the Russian military-industrial complex on foreign IT systems" appeared on the website of the US Department of the Treasury.
The blacklist includes consulting, design, and cloud services for certain categories of software related to the Russian IT sector.
The authors of the new Treasury initiative specifically emphasized in their message that the US "supports the free exchange of information and communications in the world," and in no way intends to provoke the undermining of society and civil telecommunications systems with this ban, therefore they allow humanitarian activities previously authorized by special licenses to continue.
General License 25D authorizes the export to Russia of services related to the exchange of information via the Internet. This includes instant messaging, email, social networks, photo and film sharing, web browsing, video conferencing, electronic games, and e-learning platforms. Under certain conditions, the export or re-export, sale or supply to Russia of software, hardware, or technologies for communication on the Internet is permitted. The conditions stipulate that these services and supplies cannot be provided to "Channel One", "Russia 1", NTV, etc., as well as any payments from the accounts of the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Russia, and the National Welfare Fund, blocked by American financial institutions.
The export, re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by a US person, of IT consulting, design, IT support, or cloud services for relevant software to any person located in the Russian Federation is prohibited.
Although the Treasury sanctions, according to the idea of the legislators, should not affect the lives of ordinary users, industry experts fear that the echoes of the new initiative will soon be felt by everyone. "The sanctions will tighten the current situation, so even sending updates will become more difficult," says Valentin Makarov, president of the RUSSOFT association. The recent decision by the messenger Slaсk to block user accounts from Russia only confirms the experts' forecasts.
The total number of those affected by the prohibitive measures is 30 individuals and more than 200 entities from Russia and China. The ban will take effect on September 12, 2024.
Earlier www1.ru reported that KMZ, Geoscan, and "Roboavia Unmanned Systems" fell under US sanctions against Russia.
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