Moscow court has levied a fine of 400,000 roubles ($4,274) against Apple for its failure to remove “inaccurate” content related to Russia’s interpretation of the conflict in Ukraine from its apps and podcasts. This marks the first time that Apple has been penalized for this particular offense, according to reports from Russian news agencies.
The Russian news agency, TASS, reported that Apple had been found guilty of not taking down applications and podcasts containing misleading information about the situation in Ukraine. Interfax, another prominent news agency in Russia, stated that the content in question allegedly aimed at involving minors in illegal activities to destabilize the political situation within the Russian Federation.
Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter. However, it’s worth noting that the tech giant had previously suspended all product sales in Russia shortly after the country dispatched tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Furthermore, Apple had also limited its Apple Pay service within Russia during the same period.
During the court proceedings, Apple’s legal team reportedly requested a closed-door session to safeguard trade secrets from being disclosed to the public. Consequently, media outlets were asked to leave the courtroom.
The clash between Moscow and Big Tech companies over content, censorship, data, and local representation has been an ongoing issue for years. Tensions escalated notably after Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. In a related antitrust case, Apple paid a substantial 906-million-rouble fine, following allegations of abusing its dominance in the mobile apps market, as reported by Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) in February.
Previously, Apple had appealed and expressed respectful disagreement with the FAS ruling, which had accused the company of providing its own products with a competitive advantage by distributing apps through its iOS operating system.
The same court, which issued the recent fine against Apple, had also imposed a 3-million-rouble penalty on the Wikimedia Foundation, the entity that owns Wikipedia, for the same offense. Wikimedia has faced several fines in the past and consistently maintained that the information criticized by Russian authorities adhered to Wikipedia’s rigorous sourcing and content standards.
As the legal and regulatory landscape continues to evolve in Russia, tech companies like Apple and Wikimedia are navigating the complexities of content moderation and local compliance, seeking to strike a balance between freedom of information and adherence to local laws. The situation remains fluid, and stakeholders will be closely observing further developments as these issues unfold. ($1 = 93.5775 roubles)
