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Apple Pulled VK Apps Over Sanctions. Now the Russian Tech Giant Wants $696,000 a Day
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VK has sued Apple in Moscow, demanding that the US technology giant restore its applications to the App Store and re-enable notifications for users after the services were removed over sanctions, according to Russian Moscow Arbitration Court records on August 19.
VK is asking the court to order Apple to restore several of its services. If Apple fails to comply with a ruling, the Russian company wants penalties of 58 million rubles per day—about $696,000.
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The proposed daily penalty would be divided between three major services. VK is seeking 50 million rubles, or about $600,000 per day, for the continued blocking of its flagship VKontakte app, 5 million rubles, or roughly $60,000, for VK Music, and 3 million rubles, or about $36,000, for Odnoklassniki .
VK wants the penalties imposed on Apple’s Russian entity, Apple Rus LLC, as well as US-based Apple Inc. and Ireland-based Apple Distribution International Ltd.
The company asked for the daily fines to begin on the sixth day after the court issues its full ruling if Apple does not comply.
Apple removed a range of VK-owned applications from the App Store, including VKontakte, VK Messenger, VK Video, Zen, Mail Cloud, Mail, Skillbox, and Youla. Apple attributed the removals to sanctions.
The move followed the European Union’s decision to sanction VK and its subsidiary Communication Platform LLC, the developer and operator of Russia’s state-backed Max messaging service.
The EU said the companies were involved in activities that enable surveillance of citizens, censorship, and the identification of people opposed to Russian government policies.
VK applications subsequently also disappeared from Google Play.
The Kremlin sharply criticized Apple after the removals, arguing that the move called into question the company’s “reliability as a provider of commercial services.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also demanded an explanation from Apple.
Previously, a Moscow arbitration court ordered Google Ireland Limited to return more than $2.1 billion to Google’s bankrupt Russian unit after finding the payments constituted unjust enrichment.
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