As Bloomberg reported today, Apple and Microsoft are now subject to Russian regulations requiring companies to store users’ communications and provide them to security agencies if requested. Here are the details.
Apple now part of Russia’s surveillance registry
Apple and Microsoft are now in 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 users’ messages, audio and video communications, and provide them to Russian security agencies if requested.
According to Bloomberg, Apple and Microsoft were added on October 2 to the “organizers of information dissemination” registry, which is maintained by Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor.
Here’s Bloomberg:
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.
Specific to 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 limiting services such as Apple Pay.
However, Apple continued operating the App Store in Russia, which has 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, following government-imposed payment restrictions.
In June, the Kremlin demanded an explanation after Apple removed several apps developed by Russian state-controlled 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 regulator opened formal proceedings against Apple over its failure to preinstall the state-backed MAX messaging app and the RuStore app marketplace on its devices.
All of that said, neither Apple nor Microsoft has publicly commented on its inclusion in the registry or indicated whether it intends to comply with the requirements.
To read Bloomberg’s full report, follow this link.
