Putin’s social media war: Russian agents threaten Google and Apple executives in Moscow with jail if they don’t remove anti-Putin protest voice recording app
- Google officials say alleged FSB agents ordered a female Google executive to either shut down the app within 24 hours or go to jail.
- After the tech giant moved the executive to a hotel room under an alias, the same agents came and visited her again to tell them they wanted to take him out.
- Hours later, the Smart Voting app created by Putin’s opponent Alexei Navalny, which allowed Russians anti-Putin protest votes, was taken down.
- An Apple employee in Moscow received similar threats from the FSB, the successor to the KGB.
- Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February, Google and many other tech companies have said they will stop doing business in Russia.
Russian agents allegedly showed up at the home of a Google executive in Moscow to crack down on an app used by the Russian president’s biggest adversary as part of Vladimir Putin’s plan to stifle any domestic criticism.
Google officials say alleged FSB agents ordered a female Google executive to either shut down the app within 24 hours or be imprisoned in a never-before-disclosed intimidation campaign last year, according to a Washington Post report.
After the tech giant moved the executive to a hotel room under an alias, the same agents came and visited her again to tell them they still wanted to disable the app.
Within hours, the Smart Voting app — an app created by Putin opponent Alexei Navalny that allowed Russians anti-Putin protest votes — was removed from the Apple and Google app stores.
The Post reported that an Apple employee in Moscow received similar threats from the FSB, the successor to the KGB.
The names and nationalities of the two employees of the American companies were not disclosed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly threatened employees of large technology companies, forcing them to close applications.
The app, developed by Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was allegedly taken down due to threats from Russian agents.
Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February, Google and many other tech companies have said they will stop doing business in Russia.
As of Thursday, monetization of Google Cloud, Google Pay and YouTube has effectively stopped.
Apple has also shut down many services, including Apple Pay technology, and stopped selling hardware in Russia. This caused long queues at train stations in Moscow.
Microsoft, IMB and most of the major US credit card companies have also ceased operations in the country.
Russian President Putin hit back by blocking access to Twitter and Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He also tends to shut down independent news organizations.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai (left) and Apple CEO Tim Cook
Debris of damaged houses lie on the ground near where a cultural center and an administrative building once stood, destroyed in aerial bombardment as Russia continues its offensive against the Ukrainian capital, in the village of Byshiv near Kiev.
His most extreme tactic may be the 2021 “hostage law,” which forces foreign tech companies to keep their employees in Russia.
Putin also jailed opposition leader Navalny, of course.
Google and Apple claim to abide by the laws of the countries in which they operate. They condemned global violations of human rights.
The companies have not yet responded to requests for comment on the report.