Apple Company decided to remove VK, which is Facebook’s competitor in Russia, from its App Store. This was given as part of compliance with British sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. The decision was made worldwide by the people in Cupertino. Thus, the Russian social network was removed from the company’s store. An official statement from the social platform made it clear that the app will continue to work on those phones on which it had been installed before the dismantling.
However, users were warned that there could be “difficulties in notifications and payments”. The release goes on to explain that “in recent months, key updates were implemented in our core products, which will allow applications to remain relevant for a long time to come”. In addition, it was made clear from the company that:
“Our experts are doing everything possible to maintain and continue to improve the user experience.”
Apple also issued a statement to confirm the removal of the Russian application. The maker of the iPhone handsets, raised that “these applications are being distributed by developers majority owned or controlled by one or more parties sanctioned by the UK government.”
Russian government defending VK
The folks at Cupertino, in their statement, added that “to comply with these sanctions, Apple terminated the developer accounts associated with these apps and because of this they cannot be downloaded from any store, regardless of their location.” But he ended by clarifying that “users who have already downloaded these applications can continue to use them”.
The Russian government did not remain silent about the situation with the app that competes with Facebook. From the Ministry of Digital Affairs it is understood that Apple is pushing with the removal of the app. In addition, it has been emphasized on “the social importance and scale of use of the services provided by the Russian company”. It has also been suggested that the company will implement an “action plan” to counteract this global measure.
A global fight
Apple joined what many Western companies have been doing in the face of the sanctions imposed on Russia by several European countries, mainly England. Many products, by decision of the Russian government, have stopped being sold in the country because of this attachment to external sanctions. However, from Russia, the situation has been raised as a “parallel import scheme”, in these times of warlike confrontation.
Among the last known sanctions from the United Kingdom are sanctions due to alleged false referendums. These were allegedly carried out by Russian authorities in occupied territory to demonstrate consent to the annexation of these regions to Russia.
Russian banks that are linked to VK, in shareholding matters, have been sanctioned; in particular, some of the members of its board of directors. This struggle of interests, on Ukrainian soil, has spread to the world of business, of social networks, where the dispute is also over information and truth.
