AS Bloomberg According to reports today, Apple and Microsoft are now subject to Russian regulations that require companies to archive 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 register, joining companies and services such as Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Cloudflare and Blizzard Entertainment, all of which are required to archive user messages, audio and video communications and provide them to Russian security agencies if requested.
Second BloombergApple and Microsoft were added on October 2 to the register of “organizers of information dissemination,” maintained by Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor.
Here you are Bloomberg:
Companies on the list are obliged by Russian law to archive correspondence, audio and video messages of local users and to hand over such data to security services if requested. They must also store information about users and the transmission of their communications in Russia for three years.
Companies that do not comply may face fines and ultimately have limited access to their services in Russia. Google and its video calling service Google Meet 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 limited access to platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Apple’s FaceTime.
Apple specifically, 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 limiting services like Apple Pay.
However, Apple continued to operate the App Store in Russia, which led 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-imposed payment restrictions.
In June, the Kremlin demanded an explanation after Apple removed several apps developed by the state-controlled Russian company VK from the App Store. Around the same time, Apple also removed banking apps linked to sanctioned Russian financial institutions.
More recently, in August, Russia’s antitrust authority initiated formal proceedings against Apple over its failure to pre-install the state-backed MAX messaging app and the RuStore app marketplace 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 with the requirements.
Must read Bloombergthe full report, follow this link.
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