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Russia now requires Apple to store user communications and hand them over if requested
As Bloomberg reported today, Apple and Microsoft are now subject to Russian regulations requiring companies to store users’ communications and provide them to security agencies if requested. Here are the details.
Apple and Microsoft are now in Russia’s state surveillance registry, joining companies and services such as Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Cloudflare, and Blizzard Entertainment, all of which are required to store users’ messages, audio and video communications, and provide them to Russian security agencies if requested.
According to Bloomberg, Apple and Microsoft were added on October 2 to the “organizers of information dissemination” registry, which is maintained by Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor.
Companies on the list are required under Russian law to store local users’ correspondence, audio and video messages and turn that data over to security services if asked. They must also store in Russia information about users and the transmission of their communications for three years.
Companies that fail to comply can face fines and ultimately have access to their services restricted in Russia. Google and its Google Meet video-calling service were added to the same registry in January.
The move comes as Russia continues to tighten restrictions on foreign messaging services, having already blocked or limited access to platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Apple’s FaceTime.
Specific to Apple, the company’s relationship with Russia has become increasingly complicated since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting Apple to suspend product sales and exports while limiting services such as Apple Pay.
However, Apple continued operating the App Store in Russia, which has led to several disputes with local authorities.
In April, Russian users lost the ability to make new App Store purchases or renew subscriptions without an existing Apple Account balance, following government-imposed payment restrictions.
In June, the Kremlin demanded an explanation after Apple removed several apps developed by Russian state-controlled company VK from the App Store. Around the same time, Apple also removed banking apps linked to sanctioned Russian financial institutions.