Google, like Apple, has withdrawn an anti-Kremlin mobile app because of
"unprecedented"
pressure
from the Russian government, including
"serious public threats of legal reprisals and jail against local employees,"
according to a report. source close to the file.
The Russian opposition on Friday accused the two technology giants of
"censorship"
for having yielded to government pressure by withdrawing this program created by the movement of the imprisoned opponent Alexeï Navalny.
The decision comes after months of repression that dismissed critics of President Vladimir Putin from the ballot.
Read alsoFacebook ready to bow to Chinese censorship
The California giant, which dominates online search and mobile internet,
"did not make the decision lightly,"
according to the source. She clarified that the application remains usable by those who have already downloaded it in Russia. Earlier today, another source told AFP that Apple employees had faced
"harassment tactics and threats of arrest
.
"
The decisions of the two companies, which have resisted political pressure for weeks, were nevertheless widely criticized by Russian opponents and human rights defenders.
Leonid Volkov, exiled opposition leader, accused Apple and Google of
"censorship"
and
"giving in to the Kremlin's blackmail"
by removing the software from their stores.
"This application is illegal in our country,"
replied the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
Read alsoChina: Beijing attacks online news sites
As almost no anti-Putin candidate has been allowed to run for the legislative elections, Alexeï Navalny's supporters have developed a so-called
“smart vote”
strategy
intended to support the candidate - often Communist - best placed to put in difficulty that of the party in power, United Russia. The application made it possible to know for which competitor to vote in each constituency of the legislative elections this weekend, but also during dozens of local and regional elections. In the past, this approach had met with some success, especially in Moscow in 2019.
