Russia on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Apple after the tech giant removed the country’s social network VK from the App Store Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has been a “thorn in the side” of foreign tech firms in recent months, issuing fines for what it said were “data retention violations and failure to remove content” that Russia considers illegal.
Such disputes have escalated since Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February, triggering Western sanctions and causing hundreds of companies to turn their backs on business with Russia.
Otherwise, VK runs Vkontakte, with over 75 million monthly users it is the largest social network in Russia, often compared to Facebook.
As it turns out, together with the VK Mail.ru e-mail service, Vkontakte must be pre-installed on mobile devices sold in Russia.
And Roskomnadzor said Apple’s actions had deprived millions of Russians of access to VK apps and demanded it explain its decision.
While Apple has responded by saying that it follows the laws in the jurisdictions where the company operates.
The company added that the apps in question were being distributed by developers majority-owned or majority-controlled by one or more parties targeted by sanctions from the UK government.
Regardless of location, the apps cannot be downloaded from any app store, said Apple, which closed developer accounts linked to the apps to comply with UK sanctions.