But in practice, the internet's growing balkanization is eroding internet freedom worldwide and undermining the entire concept of a decentralized, global web.Īpple's plan still leaves multiple opportunities for users to remove government-imposed apps, but promoting them during setup will inevitably result in broader distribution of Russia's chosen software. "And now they’re being forced to promote government-approved apps on their platforms."įrom both an economic and national security standpoint, it's understandable to a degree that governments would want to promote domestic software to their own citizens. “They must store data on local servers, provide security agencies with decryption keys, and remove content that violates Russian law," Shahbaz says, though not all companies do all of those things. And the government has imposed increasingly strict regulations on domestic tech companies. The country has undertaken a massive effort to reshape its internet toward mechanisms for control, censorship, and mass surveillance. “This comes within the context of years and years of mounting regulatory pressure on tech companies" in Russia, says Adrian Shahbaz, director for democracy and technology at the human rights nonprofit Freedom House. But the company's decision to bend its rules on pre-installs could inspire other repressive regimes to make similar demands-or even more invasive ones. Apple has stopped short of that the suggested apps aren't pre-installed, and users can opt not to download them. The law in question dates back to 2019, when Russia dictated that all computers, smartphones, smart TVs, and so on sold there must come preloaded with a selection of state-approved apps that includes browsers, messenger platforms, and even antivirus services. It's a concession Apple has made to legal pressure from Moscow-one that could have implications far beyond Russia's borders. Alongside questions about language preference and whether to enable Siri, users will see a screen that prompts them to install a list of apps from Russian developers. Beginning in April, new iPhones and other iOS devices sold in Russia will include an extra setup step.
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