Apple bows to Russian VPN crackdown: What it means for internet freedom

[karah rucker]

WHERE YOU GO ON THE INTERNET IS UP TO YOU – BUT IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD – YOUR ACCESS CAN BE GREATLY RESTRICTED.

THAT’S BEEN THE CASE IN RUSSIA FOLLOWING THE COUNTRIES INVASION OF UKRAINE IN 2022.

VLADIMIR PUTIN’S GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED ACCESS TO VARIOUS WESTERN SERVICES.

THAT LED TO A SURGE IN US OF ‘VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK’ APPLICATIONS – OR VPNS.

THEY’RE CRITICAL TOOLS ALLOWING PEOPLE TO BYPASS INTERNET CENSORSHIP AND ACCESS RESTRICTED CONTENT BY ROUTING THEIR CONNECTION THROUGH SERVERS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA.

WELL NOW – THAT SEEMS TO BE OVER. THIS WEEK WE LEARNED APPLE REPORTEDLY REMOVED 25 VPNS FROM ITS RUSSIAN APP STORE AT THE REQUEST OF RUSSIA’S STATE COMMUNICATIONS WATCHDOG.

THIS RECENT MEASURE COMES AS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ONGOING EFFORTS TO CONTROL VPN USAGE, WHICH INTENSIFIED BEFORE THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS IN MARCH.

VPN COMPANIES IMPACTED BY THE MOVE REVEALED THAT APPLE’S NOTIFICATIONS CITED THE INCLUSION OF CONTENT ILLEGAL UNDER RUSSIAN LAW.

IN THE UNITED STATES, THE USE OF VPNS IS COMPLETELY LEGAL, AND THEY ARE WIDELY USED FOR LEGITIMATE PURPOSES.

THINGS LIKE ENHANCING SECURITY ON PUBLIC WI-FI NETWORKS, PROTECTING PERSONAL PRIVACY FROM SURVEILLANCE, AND ACCESSING GEO-RESTRICTED CONTENT LIKE STREAMING SERVICES.

THIS LEGAL STANCE CONTRASTS SHARPLY WITH THE SITUATION IN RUSSIA AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD- WHERE THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING VPN USE IS MUCH MORE RESTRICTIVE AND CLOSELY MONITORED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

APPLE’S ACTION REFLECTS THE BROADER MEASURES TAKEN BY THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL THE NARRATIVE WITHIN ITS BORDERS, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF HEIGHTENED POLITICAL AND MILITARY TENSIONS. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST INSTANCE OF SUCH RESTRICTIONS; HISTORICALLY, RUSSIA TOOK EXTENSIVE STEPS TO MONITOR AND CONTROL INTERNET ACCESS, INCLUDING THE NOTORIOUS 2016 “YAROVAYA LAW” WHICH MANDATES INTERNET PROVIDERS TO STORE USERS’ COMMUNICATIONS DATA FOR YEARS AND PROVIDE ACCESS TO SECURITY AGENCIES.

WHILE APPLE HALTED THE SALE OF HARDWARE AND DISABLED APPLE PAY SERVICES IN RUSSIA FOLLOWING THE INVASION OF UKRAINE, THE COMPANY HAS KEPT THE APP STORE OPEN.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M KARAH RUCKER.

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