The Russian communication regulatory body is cracking down on tech companies for not storing data of Russian users in the country. Among others, Apple is also on the authority list.
Reuters reports that Tagansky District Court in Moscow found United Parcel Service (UPS) and Amazon-owned companies: Twitch, Pinterest, and Airbnb guilty of breaching Russian legislation on the storage of personal data and has imposed up to a $37,700 fine on each company.
Apple could face up to a $37,000 fine in Russia for not storing users’ data in the country
Since the attack of Russian forces on Ukraine, the relations between the tech companies and the government have been stringent, including Apple.
Previously, the Cupertino tech giant has complied with all local laws in Russia. Apple set up local offices in Russia to bring companies and their employees under their legal system and the government’s demand for censorship, iCloud Private Relay was not launched in the country, removed the “Smart Voting” election app on the government’s demand, display government-approved apps on the Russian App Store when setting up a new iPhone and others.
However, that all changed after the Ukraine war. Apple paused advertising on App Store in Russian, showed “Crimea” as part of Ukraine in Maps outside the country, suspended Apple Pay, and has doubled down on donation efforts for Ukrainians.
As per the report, the Russian authority launched an investigation against the iPhone maker in May and could face up to $115,774.50 (6 million roubles).
Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor said in late May that it had also opened an administrative case against U.S. tech giant Apple (AAPL.O).
For first-time offenses, companies can be fined 1-6 million roubles, said Roskomnadzor.
Repeated offenders could face larger fines. After paying a 3 million roubles penalty last year, Google was imposed 15 million roubles this month for violation of data storage.
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