Apple, Google Raise Concerns over Removal of Russian App

Big Tech companies that operate around the world have long promised to follow local laws and protect civil rights while doing business. These two aims sometimes conflict.

When Apple and Google recently agreed to remove an app at the request of the Russian government, it raised worries. It appears that the companies are more concerned with making money than protecting democratic rights.

The app is called Smart Voting. It was a tool for organizing political opposition¹ to Russian President Vladimir Putin before the elections last weekend. The ban has been sharply criticized by supporters of free elections and democracy.

Natalia Krapiva is with Access Now, an internet freedom group. "This is bad news for democracy and dissent² all over the world," she said. "We expect to see other dictators copying Russia's tactics."

Technology companies that offer services like searches, social media and apps have long been in conflict with less-democratic countries. Apple, Google and other large companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook have grown stronger over the past decade. But government efforts in many countries to use that power for their own purposes has also grown.

Sascha Meinrath is a professor at Pennsylvania State University and studies online censorship. He said the act was a great symbol of "political oppression." He added that Google and Apple have increased the chances of something similar happening again.

Neither Apple nor Google answered interview requests from The Associated Press.

Google also denied access to documents on its online service Google Docs that listed candidates supported by Smart Voting. YouTube blocked similar videos.

One person with knowledge of the matter told AP that Google faced legal action by Russian officials if it failed to remove the app. Russian officials also threatened criminal charges against individual employees, the person said. The person also told AP that Russian police visited Google's Moscow offices last week to enforce a court order to block the app.

Google's own employees have reportedly criticized the company's decision to remove the app on employee message boards.

Apple has a "Commitment To Human Rights" on its website. A close read of that statement, however, suggests that when legal government orders and human rights are in conflict, the company will follow the government.

"...we respect national law..." the statement reads.

A recent report from the organization Freedom House found that worldwide internet freedom decreased for the fifth straight year. Internet freedom is under increasing threat as more nations arrest internet users for political speech.

At least 20 countries suspended internet access and 21 other countries blocked access to social media, the report found.

Big Tech companies have generally agreed to follow government demands to remove content to continue operating in these countries. Posts by those denying the Holocaust⁴ are blocked in Germany and other European countries where they are illegal, for example. And in Russia, opposition parties are censored⁵.

The app's removal was widely denounced by Russian opposition politicians. Leonid Volkov is a top adviser⁶ to jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He wrote on Facebook that the companies "bent⁷ to the Kremlin's blackmail⁸." One Navalny ally said on Twitter that the politician's team is considering bringing legal action against the two companies.

It is possible that the companies could decide to stop operating in Russia. Kurt Opsahl is a lawyer with the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. "If you want to take a principled stand on human rights and freedom of expression, then there are some hard choices you have to make on when you should leave the market," he said.

Words in This Story

dissent — n. to publicly disagree with an official opinion, decision, or set of beliefs

tactic³ — n. an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a particular goal

censorship — adj. the system or practice of censoring⁹ books, movies, letters, etc.

blackmail — n. the crime of threatening to tell secret information about someone unless the person being threatened gives you money or does what you want

principle — adj. a moral rule or belief that helps you know what is right and wrong and that influences your actions

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

3 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

4 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

5 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

8 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

9 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。