How Technology Companies Are Shaping the Ukraine Conflict

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By offering or ceasing services, Internet and telecommunications companies offer a glimpse of a future in which the tech sector takes sides in warfare, with far-reaching effects

Earlier this year, Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, announced that people could create posts calling for violence against Russia on its social media platforms. This was unprecedented. One of the world’s largest technology firms very publicly picked sides in a geopolitical conflict. Russia was now not just fighting a country but also multinational companies with financial stakes in the outcome. In response, Russia announced a ban on Instagram within its borders.

This is leading to a new global reality. Any country with geopolitical ambitions can no longer plan only for how nations might respond, but also must consider how technology companies might respond. From my perspective as an expert in the convergence of technology and geopolitics, the beliefs and ideologies of technology executives now matter as much as those of politicians.

By October, 2022, the total cost to SpaceX for delivering Starlink terminals to Ukraine reached $80 million. Even with this relationship now in doubt, with the involvement of SpaceX, Ukraine was able to stop Russia from controlling the country’s Internet. And, as Russian forces battle against the Ukrainian resistance, satellite imagery is becoming crucial. Google has disabled live traffic functions in Ukraine, a feature that could give Russia insight into the locations of Ukrainian forces. At the same time, MDA, a Canadian space firm specializing in imagery intelligence, or geointelligence, received approval from the Canadian government to supply Ukraine with satellite imagery of Russian troop movements in Ukrainian territory.

Technology firms are changing the balance of power, as Ukraine acquires capabilities it didn’t have before and Russia, in some cases, is denied these capabilities. Of course, it’s not all pro-Ukraine. While many Western companies quickly exit Russia, many Asian companies continue their operations there.

 

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