VPN makers say that Apple took down a number of VPN apps from its Russian App Store at the request of the government’s communications body.
Last week, the Russian news agency Interfax said that Apple had taken down 25 VPN apps from its Russian App Store because Roskomnadzor, the government agency that controls the internet and what Russians can access, asked them to be taken down.
Russia’s internet is heavily censored and controlled, so people who use it often use VPNs to get around restrictions and access material that is blocked.
Two VPN services, Le VPN and Red Shield VPN, told TechCrunch on Monday that they got a letter from Apple telling them that the company was taking their apps off the App Store.
Apple sent a letter to Red Shield VPN saying, “We are writing to notify you that your application, per demand from Roskomnadzor will be removed from the Russia App Store because it contains content that is illegal in Russia and does not comply with the App Review Guidelines.” A screenshot of the letter was given to TechCrunch by Vladislav Zdolnikov, CEO and founder of the company.
Got the same letter from someone else who said they knew some of the people who made the banned apps.
The main point of the letter is to say that the VPN apps in question break Russian law.
In every place you put an app online, it has to follow all the rules set by the law (if you’re not sure, talk to a lawyer). “We understand that this is hard to understand, but it is your job to learn all local laws and make sure your app follows them, not just these guidelines.”
The letter didn’t say why the apps were taken down, but it did say that Roskomnadzor’s request was legal under a certain part of Russia’s federal law.
Since the government banned VPN ads before the country’s election in March, this is the latest move on VPNs.
In an email, Zdolnikov said that Red Shield VPN and other apps that were taken down, such as Hide My Name and Le VPN, “are developed and maintained by people who have an in-depth understanding of Russia’s internet censorship mechanisms.”
“We know how to get around these rules, and we’re always making our services better.” Users can still access our services even though people have tried for years to block them, Zdolnikov wrote. The work was done better and for less money by Apple for the Russian government.
The founder of Le VPN, Konstantin Votinov, told TechCrunch that the company got a message from Apple on July 4 telling them about the removal. As for Le VPN, Votinov says that Roskomnadzor marked the app’s description on the App Store as having “infringing content.”
“We got a notice from [Roskomnadzor] through Apple after our app had already been taken down, so we couldn’t do anything about the problems.” “This looks like it’s part of a bigger crackdown in Russia that affects at least 25 VPN providers,” Votinov said.
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As a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Apple stopped sending hardware and some services to that country. However, its app store is still open. TechCrunch asked Apple for a response, but they didn’t answer. A request for comment was sent to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., but they did not reply right away.
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