Berlin, October 24, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Apple Inc. to reinstate two mobile apps belonging to the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which were removed from the Russian App Store at the request of state media regulator Roskomnadzor.
“Apple’s actions restrict access to vital information and embolden authoritarian regimes seeking to silence independent media in countries like Russia,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “We call on Apple to uphold press freedom and ensure that people have access to objective and unbiased news.”
Apple informed RFE/RL in a letter that it had removed the app of Current Time TV, a Russian-language digital network operated by RFE/RL, because it contained content deemed illegal in Russia and included materials from an organization classified as “undesirable” by Russian authorities, RFE/RL reported on October 18.
In an October 22 post on X, RFE/RL said Apple’s compliance with the Russian government’s request was “part of a trend to deny people in authoritarian countries access to uncensored information.”
A representative from RFE/RL confirmed to CPJ that the app of Radio Azattyk, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, was also removed.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Roskomnadzor has blocked the websites of RFE/RL, including its Russian Service, Radio Svoboda, and Current Time.
On March 6, 2022, RFE/RL suspended its operations in Russia in response to government actions aimed at forcing its Russian division out of business. In February 2024, the Russian Justice Ministry officially labeled RFE/RL as “undesirable.”
As of late September, Apple had removed nearly a hundred of VPN services from its Russian App Store. Roskomnadzor publicly acknowledged the blocking of only 25 VPN apps at its request.
VPNs can be used by Russians to gain access to censored news and information.