Big Tech grapples with Russian internet crackdown during election

On Friday, after weeks of resistance, Apple and Google complied with an order to remove an app developed by Russian activists supporting jailed Kremlin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny from their Russian app stores after the country accused the companies of election interference.

He said that Apple and Google were following the “letter and spirit of the law” by deleting the apps from the Russian stores. .

Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Google agree to comply with local laws in countries where they operate but also have their own policies to enshrine internationally recognized human rights standards, as laid out by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

These principles state that in cases where there are conflicts between local laws and human rights commitments, companies should challenge those laws to promote international human rights standards. .

International human rights experts said that the app takedown set a worrying precedent.

“The app takedown is really concerning,” he added, pointing to the “problematic” lack of transparency from Google and Apple on how they reached their decision. .

“We don’t know the kind of human rights impact assessment the companies have done in the face of this kind of pressure.

Kaye added that Google and Apple both have offices and employees in Russia, which means the companies have “set themselves up for a kind of hostage-taking situation.”.

One is to pass laws requiring platforms to do some things to signify their compliance up front -- before they even receive a takedown request,” she said, pointing to laws that require companies to have a local office with employees or data stored in the country

Two Facebook employees, who asked that their names not be used because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said that the company has been leaning on international human rights principles to push back on takedown requests related to Navalny, including including posts related to his voting app, but they expected that Apple and Google’s compliance would create more pressure for the social media giant. 

Kaye said that the tech companies’ response to Russian internet restrictions would be watched closely by other regimes seeking to take more control of online speech

Russia, the employee said, was a relatively low-stakes market for the company, but one that large, strategically important markets might be looking to emulate.