Russia’s Digital Ministry said that Apple removed VK applications from the App Store without explaining the reasons and described the decision as politically motivated. The ministry said the company had ignored the socially significant functions of the services, which are also used to warn users about emergency risks and other incidents.
The ministry also called the removal an act of unfair competition. In its view, Apple is seeking to protect the interests of foreign platforms that, it says, are being pushed out by Russian apps. Officials also noted that Apple devices do not allow users to choose a default search engine or preinstall a Russian app store.
Because of this, the ministry appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Service and asked it to review the situation promptly.
VK said the company itself had never been under sanctions and argued that Apple’s actions were restricting Russians’ access to services used daily by tens of millions of people. The company added that, as a result of the removal, users would be unable to download or update the apps and would stop receiving push notifications.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the removal of VK applications from Apple’s store raises questions about the reliability of the service and about whether it can be trusted as a provider of commercial services.
He added that active users of the services could switch to Android, domestic systems, and similar alternatives.
On June 25, the App Store lost the main VKontakte social network app, the Mail.ru email app, as well as VK Video, VK Music, VK Messenger, and Zen. The Odnoklassniki social network app also became unavailable. The reason for the removal of those apps from Apple’s store has not been disclosed.
Earlier in June, the Max messenger disappeared from the App Store in a similar way. After that, users who already had it installed stopped receiving push notifications for calls and messages. Apple then said Max had been removed in accordance with sanctions compliance rules.