Apple has removed several independent news apps and podcasts from the russian App Store at the request of the russian regulator Roskomnadzor.
The international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has reported this.
It is noted that on November 14 of this year, The Insider Live, BBC and Echo podcasts were removed, and the next day - the Svoboda app from Radio Svoboda. Earlier, in October, the company blocked the Current Time app and Voice of America.
According to GreatFire, Apple has also removed about 100 VPN apps from the russian App Store, 25 of them in July 2024 at the direct request of Roskomnadzor.
Reporters Without Borders calls on Apple to stop cooperating with the russian censor and protect citizens' access to independent information. At the same time, the American company explains its actions by the need to comply with local legislation to continue operating in russia.
Despite Western sanctions, iPhone sales in russia reached 12% of the smartphone market in 2024, which exceeds the figures for 2020, The Moscow Times reports.
In 2024, russia ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.
As previously reported, the American language learning service Duolingo removed LGBT content in order to remain operating in the russian federation.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.