Apple pulls Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news app from Russia App Store on request from Russian government
Apple has removed one of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s Russian-language news apps from the Russian App Store at the request of state communications regulator Roskomnadzor, RFE/RL said on Friday.
Reuters:
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has put dozens of opposition media websites on blacklists and banned several foreign social-media platforms in a crackdown it casts as part of an information war unleashed by the West after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow’s restriction of news sites ultimately limits Russians’ access to independent media. Moscow often accuses blocked sites of false reporting.
One of RFE/RL’s local websites in Russia, Siberia.Realities, said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means “freedom” in Russian, that the Svoboda app was being deleted. The app houses Russian content from the Siberia.Realities and North.Realities projects.
Apple removed 25 virtual private network applications from its App Store in Russia at Roskomnadzor’s behest, the Interfax news agency reported in July, part of Moscow’s crackdown on services that help people circumvent online restrictions.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple in March 2022 halted all product sales in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As for Russia, which has been fining Apple and demanding more an more censorship for years now:
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. – Potter Stewart
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