The App Store is a powerful digital ecosystem.
Apple has removed the Current Time app from the Russian App Store, telling the developer that local authorities say it contains “undesirable” content.
Current Time is an independent Russian-language media service and website operated by Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The article was removed at the insistence of Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor. According to RFE/RL, Apple told developers that authorities allege the apps contain illegal content and material from “unwanted” organizations.
RFE/RL is independently operated and funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media. U.S. government agencies have begun radio and television broadcasts to countries that restrict independent media reporting, including about 23 countries.
The app’s removal comes after Current Time’s terrestrial broadcasts were suspended in Russia after the Russian government threatened to use the Federal Tax Service to bankrupt the organization. As a result, broadcasting was only available via the now-deleted app.
Efforts to suppress independent media have intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Apple has responded to criticism of the exclusion by saying Russia must operate within the laws of the countries it serves.
