Getty Images

How Apple and Google enable Russian censorship

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.

This article is available exclusively to subscribers of THE BELL. PRO

Subscribe to THE BELL. PRO, your one-stop shop for understanding the Russian economy and politics written by award-winning experts

Subscribe
  • The Bell

    Unlimited access to an archive of over 300 articles, with 20 more articles added each month

  • The Bell

    Two in-depth weekly newsletters looking at recent events

  • The Bell

    Join The Bell’s editors and authors for webinars on the Russian economy and Russian politics

Already have an account? Log in

Buy our subscription Buy our subscription Buy our subscription

RUSSIA IN GRAPHS

Understand the Russian economy and politics with a monthly infographic plus a selection of articles to add to your reading list, compiled by The Bell’s editors team.

You might also like

Iran-Israel war plays into Kremlin hands Members Public

Hello! This week we cover how Moscow could benefit from the conflict between Iran and Israel. We also unpack an investigation into Telegram and the FSB, examining what mobile data Russia’s security services can and cannot access. Moscow stands to benefit from all-out war between Israel and Iran Although

Denis Kasyanchuk Denis Kasyanchuk
Russia, Explained

Russia prepares for a war on WhatsApp Members Public

Hello! This week we look at Russia’s plans to create a domestic messenger platform – and why that spells trouble for the almost 100 million Russian WhatsApp users. Putin backs creation of ‘national messenger’ Russian authorities are moving towards blocking the last major foreign online service that had been – until

Pyotr Mironenko Pyotr Mironenko
Russia, Explained
Buy our subscription Buy our subscription Buy our subscription

Featured Posts

Russia’s economy is cooling down

Trump’s tariffs mean long-term pain for Moscow

Russia’s odd ceasefire demands

We are working for you

The Bell was founded in 2017 by journalists Elizaveta Osetinskaya, Irina Malkova and Peter Mironenko as a news outlet independent from the Russian authorities, after its founders have been sacked as top editors at the largest Russian news website RBC because of pressure from the Kremlin.

Read about us Sidebar Image

RUSSIA IN GRAPHS

Understand the Russian economy and politics with a monthly infographic plus a selection of articles to add to your reading list, compiled by The Bell’s editors team.