Apple removes RFE/RL news app from Russian App Store at federal censor’s demand

Apple notified Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Friday that it has removed the broadcaster’s app Svoboda (“Liberty”) from the Russian version of its App Store at the demand of the country’s Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor.

The agency reportedly warned Apple that the app contained “the materials of an organization whose activities have been recognized as undesirable in Russia.”

The Svoboda app features content from RFE/RL’s Russian radio station and online media outlets. It remains available on the App Store in other countries, according to RFE/RL.

On November 14, Apple users in Russia reported that they were suddenly unable to access certain podcasts from the independent media outlets The Insider, Echo of Moscow, and BBC Russian.