William Gallagher
Russia's "Smart Voting" election app has been removed from the App Store and Google Play, in what an opposition spokesperson calls "political censorship."
Following Russia's demand that Apple and Google remove the tactical voting app, and then threats of fines, Apple and Google have dropped the "Smart Voting" app in the country.
The app, devised by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was intended to boost candidates with the best chance of succeeding against incumbents. Apple and Google's removal came just hours before election voting was due to begin.
Russian watchdog group Roskomnadzor claims that the app promotes extremist activity by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Developer Ivan Zhdanov announced the removal on Twitter, and (in translation), described it as a "mockery of common sense."
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— Ivan Zhdanov (@ioannZH) September 17, 2021
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"Formal reason for removing applications: recognition of FBK [as] an extremist organization," continues the developer's tweet. "The way the FBK was recognized as an extremist organization was not a court, but by mockery of common sense. Google, Apple, make a huge mistake."
"The decision to remove Navalny's app from Google Play... and App Store... is a huge disappointment," tweeted a spokeswoman. "This is an act of political censorship and it can't be justified."
Apple's message to the developer says that "Smart Voting" will no longer be on the App Store in the country "because it includes content that is illegal in Russia."
Russia has previously fined Apple $12 million over an antitrust issue. Apple is currently appealing
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23 Comments
If side loading was allowed this wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem. Just saying.
And that right there proves that CSAM scanning would turn into an unmitigated disaster, as demands for control over the content of the hash database and notifications of matches be in the hands of government agencies would come as soon as the “feature” would be deployed.
It also shows why side loading and authenticated root access by owners of a device must be possible: to load apps that Apple can’t or doesn’t want to offer on its brand, sales, and local laws driven AppStore:
users must be able to have the ultimate decision over what software runs on their devices and have the ability to inspect the running system for spyware etc.
The “just trust us to do the right thing” and “do no evil” approach has run its course. It’s time for “trust but verify”…
Why can't Apple and Google just go to the court to argue their case? Do Apple and Google have no spine at all? I am very disappointed at Apple and Google as a shareholder.