Putin says Microsoft and Zoom need to be "throttled" over "anti-state" acts

Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, is again turning against US tech. This time, Putin named Microsoft and Zoom during a government meeting and claimed they should be “strangled” and “throttled” inside Russia without delay.

He claims that these companies have taken an “anti-state” stance. According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency (via The Daily Beast), Putin said:

We need to strangle them. I completely agree. I say this without any embarrassment, because they are trying to strangle us. We need to reciprocate.

The above remark came during the meeting after a businessman suggested limiting access to Western services that pulled back after Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin agreed and stressed the need to replace these tools with homegrown options.

The Russian President also said that the country must focus on “developing domestic software solutions.” This will allow Russia to break free from its reliance on foreign tech firms.

For the uninitiated, Microsoft announced ending sales in the country back in 2022, citing Russia’s attack on Ukraine. That’s not all; the company last year suspended access to its cloud services in Russia.

Moreover, Zoom has also been the target of Russian lawmakers. In 2021, the company told its distributors to stop selling subscriptions to Russian state institutions.