Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince issued a statement in which he said that the company will continue to operate in Russia, despite incoming requests and demands to stop all operations in the country.
A statement posted on the company’s blog said that Cloudflare is complying with all sanctions as they are imposed. In particular, paid access to the network and systems of all clients specified in the sanctions lists, including those associated with Russian financial institutions and companies subject to sanctions, was blocked.
Over the past few years, Cloudflare has developed a robust and comprehensive sanctions compliance program that monitors and takes immediate steps to comply with new restrictions as they are introduced, Prince said.
However, the company refused to stop its activities in Russia. “In addition, we received several calls demanding to stop all Cloudflare services in Russia, ” the company’s CEO said. “ We have carefully considered these requests and discussed them with government and civilian experts. Our conclusion after consulting with these experts is that Russia needs more internet access, not less.”
Matthew Prince noted that as the conflict continues, the company is seeing a sharp increase in requests from Russian networks to global media, reflecting the desire of ordinary Russian citizens to have access to world news beyond those provided within Russia.
He added that despite requests from various parties to stop providing services in the Russian Federation, the company believes that such a move would be a mistake, given that Cloudflare basically provides a more open, private and secure Internet.
source: cloudflare
