As Bloomberg Apple and Microsoft are now subject to Russian regulations that require the companies to store user communications and provide them to security agencies if requested. Here are the details.
Apple is now part of the Russian surveillance registry
Apple and Microsoft are now on Russia’s state surveillance registry, joining companies and services such as Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Cloudflare and Blizzard Entertainment, all of which are required to store user messages, audio and video communications and provide them to Russian security agencies upon request.
According to BloombergOn October 2, Apple and Microsoft were added to the register of “organizers of information dissemination” maintained by the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor.
Here it is Bloomberg:
Companies on the list are required by Russian law to store local users’ correspondence, audio and video messages, and to hand over this data to security services upon request. They must also keep information about users and the transmission of their communications in Russia for three years.
Companies that fail to comply can face fines and ultimately have limited access to their services in Russia. Google and its Google Meet video calling service were added to the same registry in January.
The move comes as Russia continues to tighten restrictions on foreign messaging services, having already blocked or restricted access to platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Apple’s FaceTime.
Specifically for Apple, the company’s relationship with Russia has become increasingly complicated since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting Apple to suspend product sales and exports while curtailing services such as Apple Pay.
However, Apple continued to operate an App Store in Russia, leading to several disputes with local authorities.
In April, Russian users lost the ability to make new App Store purchases or renew subscriptions without an existing Apple account balance due to government payment restrictions.
In June, the Kremlin demanded an explanation after Apple removed several apps developed by Russia’s state-controlled company VK from the App Store. Around the same time, Apple also removed banking apps associated with sanctioned Russian financial institutions.
More recently, in August, Russia’s antitrust regulator launched formal proceedings against Apple over its failure to pre-install state-backed messaging app MAX and app marketplace RuStore on its devices.
That said, neither Apple nor Microsoft have publicly commented on its inclusion in the registry or indicated whether they intend to comply.
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