Samsung halts product shipments to Russia

Samsung has stopped shipping its products to Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the company told Bloomberg News. The tech giant said it’s monitoring the “complex situation,” and that it’s donating $6 million, which includes $1 million worth of consumer electronics, to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. According to the publication, the shipment suspension affects all Samsung products, including its smartphones, chips and other consumer electronic devices. 

By halting all exports of its products to Russia, Samsung has joined the growing list of companies that had paused sales of products and services in the country. Apple halted all product sales in response to the invasion and after receiving a request from Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The company also limited Apple Pay, pulled the apps for Russian state-backed media outlets from its store and disabled traffic data for Maps in Ukraine to avoid putting residents in danger. Microsoft suspended all new sales of products and services in Russia, as well. 

The Korean tech giant is the top smartphone brand in the country and has a 30 percent market share, according to Counterpoint Research data. That’s much higher than Apple’s 13 percent market share, as of the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, Samsung has a TV plant in Russia, though it’s unclear if it has also stopped production in the factory.

Its decision to halt shipments to Russia comes after Fedorov sent Jong Hee Han, the CEO for Samsung’s SET division, a letter similar to what he sent Tim Cook. In it, he asked the Korean tech giant to stop supplying the country with its products, as well as to block Samsung Pay, Samsung Galaxy Store and Samsung Shop.

As Bloomberg notes, South Korean smartphones were an exemption to the export bans recently imposed by the US government. But even if Samsung did want to continue shipping products to Russia, it would have a hard time sending products to the country anyway due to airlines and shipping services halting their activities in the region.

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Activision Blizzard faces wrongful death lawsuit over employee suicide

Activision Blizzard is dealing with particularly serious fallout from the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding the company. The Washington Post has learned Activision Blizzard is facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Kerri Moynihan, a woman who died by suicide in April 2017 during a company retreat. The family alleges sexual harassment at the game developer played a “significant factor” in her death.

Moynihan’s death was referenced in a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) lawsuit over Activision Blizzard’s reported “frat boy” culture, albeit without mentioning her name. Male colleagues reportedly shared an explicit photo of Moynihan at the holiday party preceding her death, according to that lawsuit, and referred to a male supervisor who supposedly brought sex toys to the retreat.

The family lawsuit alleges Moynihan’s boss, Greg Restituito, lied to Anaheim police and otherwise tried to hide evidence of a sexual relationship with the victim. He made “unusual inquiries” with employees present with Moynihan the night before her demise, according to a police report cited in the suit. Restituito left Activision Blizzard in May 2017, the month after Moynihan’s death.

Activision Blizzard was reportedly uncooperative with police at the time. It refused to hand over the company laptops of either Moynihan or Restituito, and also declined access to Restituito’s phone.

The family’s lawyers shared a copy of the lawsuit with The Post, but otherwise haven’t commented on the lawsuit. Anaheim police and Restituito have so far been silent. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson said the company was “deeply saddened” by Moynihan’s death and would respond to the complaint through legal channels, but said it had “no further comment” out of respect.

Activision Blizzard has taken numerous actions in response to the misconduct scandal. It removed 37 employees between July 2021 and January 2022, and disciplined another 44. Blizzard leader Mike Ybarra has also vowed to restore trust by reforming company culture. The Moynihan lawsuit underscores the apparent toxicity at Activision Blizzard in previous years, however, and adds to the pressures on the company (and its buyer Microsoft) from the SEC and others to fix its workplace practices.

In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 (US), 686868 (Canada), or 85258 (UK). Wikipedia maintains a list of crisis lines for people outside of those countries.

YouTube reportedly offers podcasters up to $300,000 to create videos

YouTube might be eager to compete against giant podcast hosts like Amazon, Apple and Spotify. Bloombergsources say YouTube is offering podcasters “grants” to produce videos, including filmed versions of their shows. Individual show creators would receive $50,000, while podcast networks would receive $200,000 or $300,000.

Parent company Google declined to comment. YouTube is already a home for some podcasts, but it hasn’t pursued that episodic content as aggressively as Spotify and other (typically audio-focused) services. There have been hints of changes, though, such as appointing executive Kai Chuk to lead the podcasting strategy. In Canada, YouTube also stopped requiring paid Premium accounts to play audio in the background.

A strategy like this wouldn’t be surprising. Amazon and Spotify have been landing more major podcast deals, while Apple’s Podcasts app is still considered a vital home for many shows. While YouTube’s grants wouldn’t secure any exclusives, they would give creators more incentives to make podcasts available on the platform — and fans more incentives to consider YouTube.