Russia’s Digital Development Ministry calls removal of VK apps from App Store ‘politically motivated’

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry said Apple removed VK’s apps from the App Store without grounds, calling the decision “politically motivated.”

Apple is “completely ignoring” the socially significant functions of the removed apps, the ministry said, noting that the apps are used, among other things, to warn users about emergency risks and incidents.

The removal also amounts to “an act of unfair competition,” the ministry said. In its view, Apple is seeking to protect the interests of foreign platforms being displaced by Russian apps. The ministry also said Apple does not allow users to set a default search engine or pre-install a Russian app store on its devices.

In response, the ministry referred the matter to the Federal Antimonopoly Service and asked it to review the facts promptly.

VK said the company has never been under sanctions and that Apple’s actions are restricting Russians’ access to services “used daily by tens of millions of people.” Users will not receive push notifications and will be unable to download or update the apps as a result of the removal.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the removal of VK’s apps from the App Store “raises questions about the reliability of this service and how much it can be trusted as a provider of commercial services.” “For those who are genuinely active users of the service, there is always an instant solution to the problem. Switch to Android, switch to our systems, switch to our equivalent service and enjoy your favorite apps,” he added.

On June 25, the main app of the social network VKontakte, the Mail.ru email app, and several other apps from the VK group — including VK Video, VK Music, VK Messenger, and Zen — disappeared from the App Store. The Odnoklassniki social network app also became unavailable. The reason for the apps’ removal from Apple’s store is unknown.

In early June, the Max messaging app disappeared from the App Store in the same way. After that, users who had it installed stopped receiving push notifications for calls and messages. Apple said Max had been removed from the App Store “in accordance with sanctions compliance rules.”