On Wednesday March 9, 2022, it was reported that due to the recent outcomes of the war in Ukraine the Russian government would be moving towards lifting intellectual property rights. The news comes from Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development, who aim to make up for the resources lost from the United State’s recent sanctions.

Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, many countries (including the U.S.) have put up sanctions against Russia banning the import of goods such as oil, technology, gas, and other goods. 33 countries including the U.S. have also put up travel bans against Russia. With restrictions only growing tighter from the rest of Europe, a response from Russia was bound to happen.

According to reports from GamerRant, the clearing of intellectual property rights allows Russia to dodge payments that are due to patent holders.

Not only does this permit citizens of Russia to pirate their media, it also allows Russian companies to benefit from the production of torrent sites that allow the streaming of media without any legal consequences.

Although big media companies are now facing the repercussions of overseas illegal streaming, this comes as a win for the people in Russia stuck with no Western contact. Russian citizens are having to deal with the bans set by both the western world and their own government.

CBS News reported that on March 11, 2022, Russia was to ban all Meta platforms, deeply affecting those in Russia who relied on Facebook and Instagram for Western contact. Even people who used the Messenger app for Facebook to talk to friends or family will no longer have access to that instant communication.

The cause as to why Russia chose to ban Meta was both in response to the Western Sanctions and as a form of “cutting ties” with Facebook after allowing posts called for the retaliation of the Russian government.

Reconsidering the outlawing of piracy is most likely only the first step the Russian government is going to take towards living a more socially flexible life in this time of war.

As the conflict in Ukraine continues to pile up, so will the restraints put around Russia by the EU as well as the U.S.