Why do Google and Apple not address the Russian censorship issue?

13/01/2022

Contributed by: Paul Zinah Le

Two tech companies have to be honest about how they reacted to pressure from Russian pressure to block an app that was opposed. Let's discover Why do Google and Apple not address the Russian censorship issue?

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1. General information about this problem

There were also accusations of ballot stuffing and an attempt to repress the opposition and change the outcome, which, unsurprisingly, enabled President Putin's United Russia party to keep its majority in the State Duma.

One of the many tactics Russian authorities used to intimidate opposition was internet censorship. It has been some time, attempts to regulate the internet in Russia with the pretext that it is "internet sovereignty" and "internet sovereignty." the most recent incident that has occurred in the course of the election ought to be of concern to not only Russians but the world community as a whole.

In the days before the election in the weeks leading up to the vote, the Russian government pressed Apple and Google to take down a well-known voting application on their websites. The opposition leader developed the app in jail, Alexey Navalny. The goal was to help voters who have a problem casting their ballots in support of the candidate with the most significant probability of defeating the United Russia candidate in a specific district.

Google and Apple Removed a Smart Voting App in Russia, Source: Youtube, TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This voting method was previously successful during local elections and could have had a significant impact on the parliamentary elections. The problem is that Google and Apple have joined the Russian authorities' efforts to thwart organized opposition in the election by blocking access to the app.

According to reports in the media, both companies gave in to pressure when the government began to threaten criminal prosecution for their Russian-based employees.

It's been more than an entire month since the election, and the two companies have yet to discuss the events that transpired publicly. With their stated commitments to respect human rights and free speech, as well as the reality they had employees locked in an app, any response would have been reasonable. In the past, coercive tactics have provoked various reactions from Tech giants.

In 2016, for instance, Brazilian authorities sought private data from Facebook, and it was unable to supply it. After they arrested Diego Dzodan, Facebook's vice president for Latin America, the company publically condemned the arrest. Apple and Google have yet to release similar statements.

It was not until September 9 that Google allowed access to the censored app; however, Apple has not yet done this.

It was disappointing that there was no reaction by government officials from the United States government, where both businesses are located. It was also frustrating that the US State Department declined to speak directly about the issue and instead issued broad declarations about freedom of speech. However, he did not manage to bring attention to the increase in Internet control occurring in Russia and around the globe.

We must recognize that silence can be a sign of complicity. It empowers the censors and makes online platforms that are the mainstay of public participation even more un-secure for journalists, activists, NGOs, and anyone brave enough to criticize their governments.

Arguments regarding "internet sovereignty" promoted by different governments, such as Russia's, do not convince people that the increasing restrictions on internet use are designed to protect people. Yet, they are designed to help keep repressive regimes and dictators in place to preserve the status quo.

This year, for instance, the Russian authorities shut down Twitter using advanced packet-inspecting technology as a response to the site's refusal to remove the 3,000 tweets they considered "unlawful."

Why do Google and Apple not address the Russian censorship issue? Source: Proreviewsapp

Russia has also passed an array of restrictive laws that could be used to force platforms to disclose sensitive data of users to the government or restrict them if they refuse to comply. In 2016 LinkedIn was shut down for not complying with one of the laws requiring platforms to keep Russian users' data on servers located in Russia.

Although the Russian government hasn't been able to control the internet entirely, and a lot of people can bypass restrictions and restrictions, these methods affect the stability of social media and the web both within and outside of the country. Blocking websites or services interfere with the normal activities of businesses, civil society, and everyone else who uses the internet to access information. This also impedes the rights of people to be free to express their opinions and participate in political organizing.

The situation is becoming worse not just in Russia but also in neighboring Belarus. After the presidential election in 2020, President Alexander Lukashenko's administration shut down connectivity to internet access for a few days to conceal the brutal crackdown against protesters against the results of the election. And in other nations around the globe, autocratic regimes and dictators are becoming more assertive in their attempts to block access to the Internet. The restrictions on internet access have increased across India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Brazil, Jordan, and other countries around the globe.

To stop the increasing threat of internet censorship, we require the openness of Big Tech companies on how the demands of political parties are addressed and how they can ensure that they do not give in to them every time at the expense of the users. The commitment to human rights and freedom of speech has to translate from the rhetoric of PR to the company's actual policies. In the absence of this, it could mean that users would be left by themselves to fight for their rights online against the ever-growing powers of censors.

Also, there must be actions that democratic governments take. They must take an unambiguous stand against multinational companies being compelled to become instruments for oppression and create solid policies to prevent this from happening. The forthcoming democracy summit that Biden will host in December could be an ideal venue to discuss this issue and take concrete steps to defend the internet's freedom from autocratic encroachment.

2. Conclusion

If we don't take action now, it may be too late to take action. The examples we set today may become the norm soon and threaten the accessibility to the internet for all.

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Source: https://proreviewsapp.com/