The Russian app market might no longer offer social media LinkedIn since Russia forced Cupertino company Apple and search giant Google to remove this mobile app. This represents the latest chapter in a long battle that this nation has had with this site. However, even when this situation started some months ago, many believes that this might a way of diverting attention from the Russian hacking´s situation, in which the U.S. intelligence agencies blamed the Kremlin for being behind the DNC and John Podesta´s email hack.
LinkedIn Remained Accessible After The Latest Ban
According to the International Business Times, Apple confirmed that it was told by Russian authorities to remove LinkedIn app a month ago, while Google explained that it wouldn't confirm that this social network was removed from the country, but recognized that it adheres to the local laws in the nations in which it operates. Of course, this comes after the communications regulator in Russia Roskomnadzor, who ordered internet service providers in the region to block access to LinkedIn last November, since a court ruled the firm failed to adhere a 2014 law which demanded that all data collected on Russian citizens must be stored domestically.
Nevertheless, even when the ban was approved, LinkedIn´s app remained available in iOS app storefronts and in any Android mobile device. In fact, the social network was accessible with the use of a virtual private network, but the situation has changed and now is practically impossible. Given this situation, LinkedIn explained that it was extremely disappointed of the court's ruling.
Apple And Google Are Participating In Russia´s Censorship
As reported by Fortune, the LinkedIn´s situation could be a considered as an indirect form of censorship, since the law empowers Russia state´s control over any company that holds information on Russian citizens. Also, this is an event that shows how many tech giants usually submit to any kind of government action that limit the freedom of speech, as long as its businesses remain untouched.
As reported in a previous article, one of the most famous cases is the U.S. tech companies that work in Russia that are willing to adhere to rules that represent an authoritarian way to censor anyone who wants to say something that doesn´t fit the local government´s interest. Unfortunately, Apple and Google´s willingness to remove LinkedIn is another episode of a situation that doesn't seem to manifest a weak moment.
