Google And Apple Finally Remove Election Voting App In Russia

JAKARTA - Google Alphabet and Apple finally agreed to the request of the Russian government. The two US tech giants have removed the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's tactical voting app from their app stores.

Sources at the company said Friday, September 17, that they did this after Russia accused the US technology company of interfering in its internal affairs.

Russians go to the polls on Friday, September 17 to elect a new parliament in a three-day vote. The country's ruling party, the United Russia Party, is expected to win although their vote share is expected to decline after a crackdown and still government, against Kremlin critics in recent years.

Navalny's allies, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic opponents, plan to use mobile apps to monitor tactical voting campaigns to deal a blow to United Russia.

On Thursday, September 16, Russia said a formal approach had been taken to the chief executives of the two companies. But Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ivan Zhdanov, an ally of Navalny who is based abroad, said on Friday, September 17 that the dismissal was a political censorship that was seen as injuring democracy. But the ruling government in Russia did not heed the criticism.