The company said in a statement that it was “extremely concerned” about the Russian invasion, and in response, it “temporarily halted all sales of products” in the country. Apple also said it moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, within Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media apps outside the country.
“Last week, we stopped all exports to our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services are restricted. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside of Russia,” Apple said. “And we have disabled both traffic and live accidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety precaution for Ukrainian citizens.”
Apple’s decision comes as tech companies face mounting public pressure to act against Russia. The Ukrainian government last week asked Apple to stop offering its App Store in Russia, but some security and democracy experts said that could harm Russian users protesting the Kremlin who rely on Western tools for regulation.
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