Russian tech giant VK is suing Apple for blocking its apps — and wants $696,000 a day in compensation
VK has sued Apple in Moscow, seeking restored apps and 58 million rubles in daily penalties for continued removals.
Russian tech giant VK is suing Apple for blocking several of its apps on the App Store. The company is seeking $696,000 in daily fines to compel Apple to restore the apps. VK launched the lawsuit in a Moscow arbitration court, demanding the removal of applications including VKontakte, VK Messenger, VK Video, Odnoklassniki, Zen, Mail Cloud, Mail, Skillbox, and Youla.
These apps were taken down by Apple following EU sanctions against VK and its messaging subsidiary, Communication Platform LLC. The Russian firm alleges the sanctions were imposed to monitor, suppress free speech, and identify critics of the Russian government. Apple justified the removals by citing compliance with EU legislation.
Kremlin officials have criticized Apple's decision, questioning the company's reliability in the Russian market. Apple has faced legal scrutiny from Russian authorities in recent years, with fines totaling $6,000 for breaching Russian laws and a ruling requiring Google to return over $2.1 billion to its Russian subsidiary. The outcome of VK's lawsuit is uncertain, as the company's presence in Russia continues to shrink.
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