Apple reportedly removed Russian independent media podcasts

2024-11-16 10:00:00, Tech CNA

US tech giant Apple has reportedly removed or hidden several Russian-language podcasts produced by independent journalists.

News agency Mediazona reported on November 14 that new episodes of online radio station Ekho Moskvy and investigative media outlet The Insider were no longer accessible inside Russia. The BBC's Russian-language Service podcast also appears to be affected.

Episodes older than a week are still accessible, Mediazona reported, while all users outside of Russia still have access to all episodes.

Apple has not yet responded to these reports. This company has also removed or blocked access to some VPNs and some apps inside Russia. Radio Free Europe's Current Time was among the outlets that left. Apple made these departures at the request of the Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor. In recent years, Russian authorities have intensified their efforts to impose tougher rules and control content on the Russian-language Internet, also known as RuNet. Platforms like X or Facebook have been blocked or slowed down in the past. Experts believe these are tests by regulators to filter content or redirect Russian users.

Video platform YouTube, which is owned by Google, has been largely untouched by regulators. But, this platform has had a slowdown.

Some officials have blamed outdated equipment found in Russia, equipment that Google has been unable to maintain due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Others have said the "degradation" is deliberate and intended to slow down access to the platform in order to anger users in an attempt to push them to use Russian alternatives, which are more state-controlled.

On November 14, internet monitors reported that YouTube inside Russia appears to have returned to normal speeds and is fully accessible across Russia.

It was not immediately clear why, but Karen Shakhnazarov, a Russian director who heads one of Russia's most famous film companies, said during a show on public television that he had raised the issue of YouTube's speed during a meeting he had had days earlier with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin "listened to me and said he will see what is happening with this issue," Shakhnazarov said.

Other attempts by regulators to control RutNet include installing sophisticated monitoring equipment, pressuring large Internet companies to sell their firms and demanding access to their servers. regulators./ Rel