As several major organizations and institutions abandon the now highly-sanctioned Russian markets, organizations have reported that their Slack business communications have abruptly been eliminated without any prior notice from the company. These new legislations cut off “the lifeblood for internal communications” for several Russian organizations, Axios said.
Slack Aligning With Parent Company Salesforce
To comply with both U.S. and international sanctions against Russia — and the policy of its parent company Salesforce — Slack is locking organizations out of their accounts. Slack Technologies LLC, acquired by Salesforce in 2020, is most often used by smaller companies employing between 10-50 employees, in the $1-10m in revenue bracket. The majority of Slack customers work in computer software and IT services in the U.S., followed by the U.K, Canada, India, and Germany. This is “largely happening to organizations that are directly sanctioned,” Axios said. In some cases, accounts have been “suspended without prior notice, as mandated by law,” Axios added.
Slack Data Will be Unlocked if Sanctions Are Lifted
Salesforce does not have “material business in Russia” or offices in the region. They do, however, have a small portfolio of Russia-based customers via resellers and other channels. There are at least 184 websites using Salesforce’s services in Russia, according to BuiltWith usage statistics. Data relating to Slack communications and accounts will not be deleted permanently, Axios said, but for organizations that are directly sanctioned, the data will be locked. “In both cases, Slack isn’t deleting data, though sanctioned companies won’t be able to access their data at least until such sanctions are lifted. And then there is the matter of Salesforce’s policies in Russia as well,” according to Axios.
Salesforce Announced the Exit Earlier
In the first week of March as tensions between Russia and Ukraine catalyzed, Salesforce had already announced that they will be exiting business relationships in Russia. As of now, “Slack is sorting through a host of issues related to business in Russia” including payment issues, Axios said. Slack is in contact with affected customers concerning “the impact of these actions on their account stays, where permitted by law,” Axios added. For the security and privacy-conscious Slack users out there, check out our full guide on how to collaborate safely via Slack.
