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How Apple and Google enable Russian censorship

The Bell
The Bell

Hello! This week we take a detailed look into the removal of VPNs from the Russian app stores of Apple and Google, exploring how the US tech giants are effectively enabling Moscow’s sweeping internet censorship.

US tech compliant in Russia’s VPN crackdown

Russian authorities are waging a serious battle against VPN services, the main tool used to circumvent Moscow’s online censorship. Dozens of VPNs have disappeared from App Store and Google Play in Russia over recent months, removed by Google and Apple at the request of Russia’s internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor. Together with Sarkis Darbinyan, cyber lawyer and expert at RKS Global and VPN Guild, The Bell looked into why the US tech giants have been so compliant, helping Russian authorities mount their online crackdown and enforce internet censorship.

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