Russia Fines Apple for Not Deleting ‘Inaccurate’ Content

Apple has been fined in Russia for allegedly not removing “inaccurate” content about a ‘special military operation’. Moscow, who sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, handed Apple a 400,000 rouble ($4,274) penalty after the tech giants paused all product sales and limited its Apple Pay service in Russia.

This is the latest, escalated skirmish between Moscow and Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation occurring since Russian forces set foot in Ukraine. Previously, Apple had already paid a 906-million-rouble fine in a Russian antitrust case, due to alleged abuse of its dominance in Russia’s mobile apps market.

Read more: Russia Antitrust Regulator Fines Apple For Abuse Of Dominant Position

The same court levied a 3 million rouble penalty to the Wikimedia Foundation, owners of Wikipedia, for the same alleged offense. Regarding the complaint, Wikipedia states: “Information that Russian authorities complained about was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.”

The back and forth between Apple, Big Tech and Russian authorities is a harsh reminder of the ever-shifting dynamics of a nation’s regulatory landscape, and the implications it has on global companies. Apple’s decision to limit its presence in Russia to actively protect its user’s data rights is likely to egg other tech organizations to follow suit into protecting their user’s rights and data freedom.

Source: Dev Discourse