Apple removes independent media app from Russian App Store

Comments

• Reply 1 of 13

  22july2013 Posts: 3,736member

  October 19, 2024 7:21PM

  Did Apple also remove the apps from people's iPhones, or do they get to keep the app if they already downloaded it?

  
• Reply 2 of 13

  lam92103 Posts: 146member

  October 19, 2024 7:22PM

  Great job Apple! Thanks to your efforts to make sure no sideloading is possible, now Russians have one less avenue to get unbiased content

  
  

  /s
  

  
• Reply 3 of 13

  chasm Posts: 3,614member

  October 19, 2024 7:31PM

  22july2013 said:

  Did Apple also remove the apps from people's iPhones, or do they get to keep the app if they already downloaded it?

  Apple doesn't have that ability.

  
• Reply 4 of 13

  dewme Posts: 5,763member

  October 19, 2024 8:50PM

  I would prefer the statement: “Apple has responded to criticism of the removals by saying it has to operate within the laws of the countries it decides to serve” followed by “and Russia is not a country that Apple has decided to serve.”
  
  Wishful thinking, but there are times when unfettered capitalism is not appropriate, imho, even when it involves a financial loss for shareholders. Actions are stronger than words. 
  
  
  
  
  

  
• Reply 5 of 13

  cpsro Posts: 3,239member

  October 19, 2024 9:18PM

  I don't see the Current Time app in the U.S. store
• Reply 6 of 13

  melgross Posts: 33,646member

  October 19, 2024 11:51PM

  lam92103 said:

  Great job Apple! Thanks to your efforts to make sure no sideloading is possible, now Russians have one less avenue to get unbiased content

  
  

  /s
  

  That wouldn’t help. All the government would have done would have been to ban side loading. It’s like Google leaving China. A great publicity stunt when it happened, but it accomplished,I shed nothing and I deed, made the problem there worse.
  
  companies have zero control over what a government does.

  
• Reply 7 of 13

  melgross Posts: 33,646member

  October 19, 2024 11:54PM

  
  

  dewme said:

  I would prefer the statement: “Apple has responded to criticism of the removals by saying it has to operate within the laws of the countries it decides to serve” followed by “and Russia is not a country that Apple has decided to serve.”
  
  Wishful thinking, but there are times when unfettered capitalism is not appropriate, imho, even when it involves a financial loss for shareholders. Actions are stronger than words. 
  
  
  
  
  

  Well, it’s an interesting situation. Like most companies, they withdrew from Russia. That means that other than for the products smuggled into Russia, Apple is not selling there anymore. So they’re likely not making any money, assuming they’re not able to bill for services. If that’s true, I wonder why they would care about orders from the government there.

  
• Reply 8 of 13

  davidw Posts: 2,119member

  October 20, 2024 12:26AM

  dewme said:

  I would prefer the statement: “Apple has responded to criticism of the removals by saying it has to operate within the laws of the countries it decides to serve” followed by “and Russia is not a country that Apple has decided to serve.”
  
  Wishful thinking, but there are times when unfettered capitalism is not appropriate, imho, even when it involves a financial loss for shareholders. Actions are stronger than words. 
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Apple is primarily a hardware company and Apple have already stop selling their hardware in Russia. At least I don't recall Russia actually banning Apple from selling any of their hardware (in Russia).  It's because of US (G7) sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.
  

  
  

  But for those Russians that purchased iPhones, iPads and Macs before Apple stopped selling them in Russia, Apple is still allowed to support them. So long as Russia (or US (G7) sanctions) do not ban Apple from doing this. And I'm assuming Russia can ban Apple from supporting their devices in Russia, if Apple do not follow the laws of the country. Thus rendering all Apple hardware, (specially iPhones and iPads), that are in Russia even more useless. It would be as easy as forcing Russian mobile telecoms stop supporting iPhones. 
  

  
• Reply 9 of 13

  dewme Posts: 5,763member

  October 20, 2024 2:55AM

  melgross said:

  
  

  dewme said:

  I would prefer the statement: “Apple has responded to criticism of the removals by saying it has to operate within the laws of the countries it decides to serve” followed by “and Russia is not a country that Apple has decided to serve.”
  
  Wishful thinking, but there are times when unfettered capitalism is not appropriate, imho, even when it involves a financial loss for shareholders. Actions are stronger than words. 
  
  
  
  
  

  Well, it’s an interesting situation. Like most companies, they withdrew from Russia. That means that other than for the products smuggled into Russia, Apple is not selling there anymore. So they’re likely not making any money, assuming they’re not able to bill for services. If that’s true, I wonder why they would care about orders from the government there.

  Thanks for the clarification. So it’s really just a matter of Apple shutting down the App Store in Russia. That sounds like something that Apple should consider. I can’t imagine the lost revenue would be missed. 

  
  

  I’m sure there are reasons why Apple keeps the App Store open in Russia, but every time Apple accepts restrictions that are clearly censorship and mechanisms to suppress human rights the rationale for keeping the App Store open get weaker and harder to justify. 

  
  

  Of course Russia isn’t the only oppressive regime that is engaged in such behaviors. 

  edited October 19
• Reply 10 of 13

  chasm Posts: 3,614member

  October 20, 2024 6:25PM

  dewme said:

  Thanks for the clarification. So it’s really just a matter of Apple shutting down the App Store in Russia. That sounds like something that Apple should consider. I can’t imagine the lost revenue would be missed. 

  Shutting down the App Store in Russia would only penalize the people who already have Apple devices there. Have you forgotten that the App Store is also how you get updates to your existing apps?

  
• Reply 11 of 13

  CheeseFreeze Posts: 1,345member

  October 21, 2024 10:14AM

  Aaah, good ol’ Apple.
  They value privacy and freedom, key company values. Until it hits their wallet, in which case they are happy to look the other way. 

  
• Reply 12 of 13

  chasm Posts: 3,614member

  October 22, 2024 12:17AM

  CheeseFreeze said:

  Aaah, good ol’ Apple.
  They value privacy and freedom, key company values. Until it hits their wallet, in which case they are happy to look the other way. 

  This a gross mischaracterization bordering on libel.

  
  

  Apple could make a tonne of money off its users in exactly the way Google does — reaping and selling personal information to the highest bidder. More than Google in fact, because Google has to give away their shit to get people to overlook the privacy violations. So Apple could at least double their income if they went that route.

  
  

  But they don’t.

  
  

  Even though idiots spew untrue crap with impunity. Maybe get back to your Faux News broadcasts, CF.

  
  

  
  

  
• Reply 13 of 13

  melgross Posts: 33,646member

  October 23, 2024 2:13AM

  chasm said:

  dewme said:

  Thanks for the clarification. So it’s really just a matter of Apple shutting down the App Store in Russia. That sounds like something that Apple should consider. I can’t imagine the lost revenue would be missed. 

  Shutting down the App Store in Russia would only penalize the people who already have Apple devices there. Have you forgotten that the App Store is also how you get updates to your existing apps?

  Of course, but it isn’t that simple. If there’s an embargo, then shouldn’t it be for everything? I suppose it’s a philosophical thing. But then, Apple would have to leave quite a few countries to be even handed. Would Android phones stop selling there, or their software. What about Linux and Windows?

  edited October 22