New Nation Report :
At least momentarily, tens of thousands of Russian video game streamers on Twitch, gig workers on Upwork, adult-content creators on OnlyFans and computer programmers working on contract have lost their jobs as many leading Western companies suspended or exited the Russian market.
Upwork, exited Russia last weekend. From gig work to content creation, online marketplaces to payment processors, American and European tech companies have created a business out of supporting online labor for more than a decade.
Upwork is a worldwide marketplace that links freelancers all around the world with potential tasks. Upwork’s actions will have an impact on both clients and freelancers in Russia and Belarus.
The company is phasing in its suspension to prevent disturbing recently contracted work and to ensure that clients and freelancers with contracts and work agreed to prior to this announcement are not harmed.
According to Upwork, the suspension will be fully implemented on May 1, 2022. This date was set to allow clients and freelancers to submit final billing and end current contracts by that date.
The following direct steps to aid Ukraine have been announced by Upwork:
1. A US$1 million donation to Direct Relief International in support of the Ukrainian population.
2. Product enhancements to make it easier for Ukrainian freelancers to preserve the careers they have worked so hard to establish, whether they are currently able to work or not.
3. Programs to make it easier for clients to maintain their existing relationships with and provide financial assistance to talent in Ukraine.
4. A $100,000 matching program for donations from our own team members to aid in humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
Twitch informed Russian streamers that it was no longer able to pay them due to payment service sanctions. (Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post, owns Twitch.) Requests for comment were not returned by OnlyFans. OnlyFans stated sanctions were preventing them from paying workers on its site in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine.
Many of the sites that allow fans to pay creators and influencers for their work rely on payment systems like Mastercard and Visa, which began barring Russian accounts in the days following Russia’s invasion. Wise, a London-based cross-border payments company, and Payoneer, a New York-based financial services provider, both done so.
PayPal’s services in Russia were banned on Saturday, citing sanctions as well as sympathy with Ukraine. “PayPal stands with the international community in denouncing Russia’s deadly military intervention in Ukraine,” said Dan Schulman, the company’s president and CEO, in a message posted on the company’s blog.
As their accounts froze and profiles vanished, Russian online workers were unsure why their earnings were being withheld or whether they had any recourse.
According to The New York Times, Uber is also attempting to “accelerate” the divestiture of Russian ride-hailing company Yandex.
