Russia Demands Explanation From Apple After VK Apps Removed From App Store

Roskomnadzor, the regulator, said Apple's actions had deprived millions of Russians of access to VK apps and demanded that it explain its decision

VK runs Vkontakte, which with over 75 million monthly users is Russia's largest social network, often compared to Facebook.

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Russia's communications regulator on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Apple after applications operated by the Russian state-controlled tech firm VK were removed from the US firm's App Store, as reported by news agency Reuters.

Roskomnadzor, the regulator, has been a thorn in the side of foreign tech firms, issuing fines over data storage violations and for failures to remove content Russia deems illegal, disputes that have escalated since Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February.

According to the Reuters report, VK runs Vkontakte, which with over 75 million monthly users is Russia's largest social network, often compared to Facebook. Along with VK's email service Mail.ru, Vkontakte must be pre-installed on mobile devices sold in Russia.

Roskomnadzor said Apple's actions had deprived millions of Russians of access to VK apps and demanded that it explain its decision.

Roskomnadzor in a statement said, “The agency believes that such discriminatory restrictions, which violate the right of Russian internet users to freely receive information and communicate, are unacceptable.”

Russia has, however, itself limited its citizens' access to information by forcing all significant independent Russian media to close and blocking the US social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

VK tightened its grip on Russia's internet space this month by finalising a deal to buy rival Yandex's news aggregator, content platform Zen and yandex.ru homepage.

VK on Tuesday said its apps, including Vkontakte, already installed on smartphones continued to work, and that it was continuing to develop and support apps for Apple's iOS operating system.

In response to an inquiry by the website, Apple spokesperson Adam Dema confirmed that VK's apps had been removed and its developer accounts shut down.  "These apps are being distributed by developers majority-owned or majority-controlled by one or more parties sanctioned by the UK government," Dema was quoted as saying in a statement.
"In order to comply with these sanctions, Apple terminated the developer accounts associated with these apps, and the apps cannot be downloaded from any App Store, regardless of location. Users who have already downloaded these apps may continue to use them," he added.

With agency inputs