Applications of the largest Russian social network were removed from the App Store
In a statement on its website, VK announced that its applications have been blocked by Apple, but the company will continue to design and support iOS applications.
According to Aetna’s report from Isna, Apple’s spokesperson confirmed in an interview with the Verge website that VK applications have been removed and the company’s designer accounts have been closed.
Apple’s spokesperson explained that these apps were distributed by designers in which one or more UK-sanctioned entities had a maximum or minimum stake. In order to comply with these sanctions, this company terminated the activity of designer accounts related to these applications, and these applications cannot be downloaded anywhere from the App Store.
On Monday of this week, the British government implemented new sanctions against Russian oligarchs in response to Moscow’s recent referendum in parts of Ukraine. These sanctions targeted 23 managers at the Russian bank Gazprom Bank who had ties to VK.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs of Russia announced to the RT network that it is investigating the reason for the deletion of the applications and accounts of the VK company and emphasized the importance of the social network and the level of use of the services provided by this Russian company. VK apps are still available on the Google Play Store.
Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, American social networking sites including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in Russia. The United States and other governments have sanctioned many businesses and individuals supported by the Russian government, including Vladimir Kriyenko, the CEO of VK and a Putin ally.
VK is the second largest Internet company in Russia after Yandex, which is considered the Google of Russia. The company was founded in 2006 by Pavel Durov, but Durov was kicked out after refusing to cooperate with Russian authorities. He now manages the Telegram messenger application.
The removal of VK apps from the Apple Store means that iPhone users will no longer be able to access the app of Russia’s fifth most popular site, as well as other VK apps, including email and music. The company told Interfax news agency that the apps could still work, but there would be issues with notifications and payments.
According to the report of the Verge website, Apple stopped selling its products in Russia earlier this year and blocked access to a certain number of Russian news applications.
The law that was implemented in Russia last year required companies such as Apple and Samsung and other phone manufacturers to pre-install Russian applications such as VK and Yandex in the phones they sell in the market of this country. .