Apple must not turn its back on the people or civil society of Russia. Access Now and over 40 Russian and international civil society organizations and experts are demanding Apple stop helping Russia’s authoritarian regime suppress freedom of speech and restore all blocked Virtual Private Network (VPN) services on its app store in the country.
On July 4, 2024, Apple removed multiple popular VPN apps from its app store in Russia on the demand of Roskomnadzor, the country’s censorship agency, to the international community’s alarm.
From civil society to journalists, VPNs are the lifeline for anyone raising a voice for human rights in Russia — without VPNs, there’s no open internet in the country. By toeing the line set by Roskomnadzor, Apple is condemning the people in Russia to unbounded state surveillance and digital dictatorship. Apple is essentially shutting Russia from the global democratic internet with its VPN block.Anastasiya Zhyrmont, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Policy Manager at Access Now
Apple’s decision to comply with Russian authorities runs counter to its own policies and international human rights standards. Further, Apple’s ill-considered decision has put at risk resilient VPN services that have been fighting for an open, safe internet despite continuous attempts by the Russian authorities to block their work. It has also put at peril the work of journalists, researchers, academics, and human rights defenders.
People in Russia already suffer from an unfree internet, aggravated by wartime censorship imposed since the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The Russian government has also continued to press digital platforms to remove Russian civil society content from their platforms, while blocking access to independent media websites, social media platforms, and Russian and international human rights organizations.
By removing VPNs from its App store, Apple has chosen to undermine its policies which acknowledge the critical importance of an open society and freedom of information and expression. Apple must understand the consequences of its actions and make immediate amends, or it will be complicit in Russian authorities’ assault on civic space in the country.Sarkis Darbinyan at RKS Global
Big Tech must not cede digital space to authoritarian diktats and risk the lives and freedoms of people in Russia. Access Now calls on Apple to immediately restore all VPN service applications previously removed from its App Store in Russia and not to comply with requests and orders from the Russian authorities that violate international human rights standards.
Read the open letter in English or Russian.
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