Roskomnadzor Asks Apple Inc., About Deleting VK Applications In The App Store

Vkontakte, removed from the App Store. (photo: twitter @vkontakte)

JAKARTA – The battle between Russia and foreign technology companies continues to rage, which has affected several applications from the country.

Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Wednesday, September 28, demanded an explanation from Apple Inc., after an app operated by the Russian state-controlled technology company, VK, was removed from the App Store.

Roskomnadzor, has been considered a thorn in the side of foreign technology companies, for issuing fines for data retention violations and failure to remove content deemed illegal by Russia. In fact, the dispute has escalated since Moscow sent its armed forces to Ukraine in February.

VK runs the Vkontakte application, with more than 75 million monthly users is the largest social media network in Russia. The app, often compared to Facebook. Along with the VK Mail.ru email service, then Vkontakte must be installed on mobile devices sold in Russia.

Roskomnadzor said Apple's actions had deprived millions of Russians of access to the VK app and demanded it explain its decision.

Apple says that they only follow the laws of the jurisdictions where the company operates. Apple said the apps in question were distributed by developers who are majority-owned or majority-controlled by one or more parties approved by the UK government.

"Regardless of location, this app cannot be downloaded from any App store," said Apple, which terminated developer accounts associated with the app to comply with UK sanctions.

State-controlled VK tightened its grip on the Russian internet space this month by finalizing a deal to buy news aggregator Yandex, content platform Zen, and homepage yandex.ru.

VK CEO Vladimir Kiriyenko is currently under UK sanctions, along with his father Sergei Kiriyenko, who served as Russian President Vladimir Putin's first deputy chief of staff.

Roskomnadzor called the restrictions "discriminatory" and said they violated the right of Russian internet users to obtain free information and communications.

Russia, however, has restricted its citizens' access to information by forcing all significant independent Russian media outlets to shut down and block US social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

VK on Tuesday 27 September said that its applications, including Vkontakte, continue to function if it is already installed on a smartphone, and continues to develop and support applications for Apple's iOS operating system.

Roskomnadzor also asked Apple to explain the removal of other applications, including those of airline Aeroflot and banks such as top lenders Sberbank and VTB.