OP 30 September, 2024 - 01:09 AM
On September 24, 2024, GreatFire published a study that reveals a significant number of VPN app removals by Apple from the Russian App Store. The study used data from the App Store Monitor (ASM) platform on AppleCensorship.com, which tracks the availability of apps in Apple stores.
According to the study, between early July and September 18, 2024, Apple removed nearly 60 VPN apps from the Russian App Store, while Roskomnadzor officially announced that it had blocked 25 VPN apps in the App Store at its request. As a result, 98 VPN apps became unavailable on the Russian market. More than 20% of the VPN apps tested were blocked without public notice, undermining the transparency of the Russian App Store.
In addition, the study found that the removals occurred on specific dates, indicating possible coordination of actions by Apple. The company could have removed apps not only at the request of Roskomnadzor, but also on its own initiative.
The purpose of the study was to verify the data of Roskomnadzor, according to which Apple removed 25 VPN apps at the request of the Russian authorities. It was also necessary to assess the scale of VPN blocking by the Russian authorities, determine the number of blocked VPNs and the degree of their inaccessibility in the Russian App Store.
During the work, more than 360 VPN apps were tested around the world, more than 63 thousand tests were conducted in 175 app stores. As it turned out, by September 2024, 98 VPN services became unavailable in the Russian App Store.
The removals took place in several stages. By July 2024, 32 apps were already unavailable, from July 4 to 7, 12 more were removed, including popular services such as CyberGhost VPN and ExpressVPN. Then, from July 8 to August 11, Apple removed another 30 apps.
The organization insists that Apple disclose the reasons for removing VPN apps and, in the event of actions outside the requests of the Russian authorities, explain its position.
source :
https://applecensorship.com/news/unveili...ansparency
https://applecensorship.com/news/apple-i...-app-store
According to the study, between early July and September 18, 2024, Apple removed nearly 60 VPN apps from the Russian App Store, while Roskomnadzor officially announced that it had blocked 25 VPN apps in the App Store at its request. As a result, 98 VPN apps became unavailable on the Russian market. More than 20% of the VPN apps tested were blocked without public notice, undermining the transparency of the Russian App Store.
In addition, the study found that the removals occurred on specific dates, indicating possible coordination of actions by Apple. The company could have removed apps not only at the request of Roskomnadzor, but also on its own initiative.
The purpose of the study was to verify the data of Roskomnadzor, according to which Apple removed 25 VPN apps at the request of the Russian authorities. It was also necessary to assess the scale of VPN blocking by the Russian authorities, determine the number of blocked VPNs and the degree of their inaccessibility in the Russian App Store.
During the work, more than 360 VPN apps were tested around the world, more than 63 thousand tests were conducted in 175 app stores. As it turned out, by September 2024, 98 VPN services became unavailable in the Russian App Store.
The removals took place in several stages. By July 2024, 32 apps were already unavailable, from July 4 to 7, 12 more were removed, including popular services such as CyberGhost VPN and ExpressVPN. Then, from July 8 to August 11, Apple removed another 30 apps.
The organization insists that Apple disclose the reasons for removing VPN apps and, in the event of actions outside the requests of the Russian authorities, explain its position.
source :
https://applecensorship.com/news/unveili...ansparency
https://applecensorship.com/news/apple-i...-app-store
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