Mozilla Firefox removes Russian search engine Yandex from settings amid war in Ukraine
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, invader Russia has faced harsh sanctions from Western countries, with many global companies suspending or ending their Moscow-based operations. On Monday, March 14, the Mozilla Firefox web browser removed Russian search engine Yandex from its settings and replaced it with Google’s default search. Mozilla Firefox users were notified of the change today, according to reports from Telecom time.
Previously, users could use Yandex search for many years in Mozilla Firefox, alongside Google, Wikipedia, DuckDuckGo, Ozon.ru, Price.ru and many others. Users began to receive notifications on March 14, stating that from today they will no longer be able to use Yandex on the browser. At this time, it is unclear how the Mozilla Foundation will be affected by this decision.
Other companies taking action against Russia
This development comes against the backdrop of several other tech companies taking similar action against Russia following its unwarranted attack on Ukraine. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Dell and Meta have announced adjustments to their business plans in Russia. Google cut ad revenue from Russian-backed state media while tightening security for Ukrainian users and websites. Sales of new products have been halted in Russia by Apple and Microsoft. Oracle and SAP halted operations in Russia, while Meta banned access to Russia today and Sputnikwhich are two of Russia’s state-controlled news outlets.
Early last week, MasterCard, Visa and American Express announced that their activities in Russia would be suspended, which means that cards issued by Russian banks will not be able to work outside Russia and that cards from other countries will not work indoors. Russia, according to News from CrunchBase.
Russian officials have threatened international companies
Meanwhile, Russian officials have threatened international companies planning to pull their operations out of the country with arrest warnings and asset seizures, the report reported. the wall street journal. Businesses were made aware of the situation through calls, letters and in-person visits. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been subjected to unprecedented sanctions imposed by Western countries, with an increasing number of companies declaring their exit or considering stopping their activities in the country.