“Everyone will stay with their own”: how will removing VK from the App Store affect business?

Apple explained the removal of VK apps from the App Store by UK sanctions

Apple has removed VK and all related applications (“VK Video," “VK Messenger," “VK Music," “VK Dating," “Odnoklassniki," “Dzen," and Mail.ru) from the App Store. Now users of iOS devices cannot download or update these platforms for communication and content viewing. At the same time, all previously downloaded apps continue to work. VK stated that Apple made this decision without notice, even though the Russian company is not under sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Federal Antimonopoly Service has still not received any explanation from the American company. The Ministry of Digital Development explained the “IT giant's” actions as an act of unfair competition, while Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov suggested that Russians switch to Android smartphones, download domestic alternative services, and communicate through them.

In turn, blogger Wylsacom (real name — Valentin Petukhov — editor's note) told Moskva 24 that after the removal of VK apps from the App Store, users will find it difficult to switch to a new iPhone. According to him, this will primarily affect ordinary users: even when buying a new phone, apps will not automatically restore from a backup — they will have to be transferred manually. This process often works unreliably, and for those heavily dependent on VK, it could become a serious problem. At the same time, he suggested that the reason for removal is not necessarily linked only to sanctions, as otherwise the apps would have disappeared from Google Play as well.

The State Duma called the removal of VK apps from the App Store a reason for Russia to build its own internet faster. As First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Marina Kim emphasized in an interview with TASS, RuStore and domestic developers have shown that “without Apple's whims, we live perfectly well.”

Later, Apple explained the removal of VK apps from the App Store by UK sanctions. In a comment to The Verge, the company also stated that it had blocked the developers' accounts. Now Russian apps cannot be downloaded on Apple devices in any country.

“The restrictions on Telegram and WhatsApp were a much bigger blow to business”*

The removal of VK apps from the App Store will not affect business operations in any way. Moreover, despite the imposed restrictions, owners of Apple products will not lose the ability to use Russian-developed applications, Telecom Daily General Director Denis Kuskov told Realnoe Vremya.

— The restrictions on Telegram and WhatsApp* were a much bigger blow to business, since many entrepreneurs had established communication with clients there. In the case of VK, I personally don't know people who would line up to install it, — the publication's interlocutor shared.

He suggested that the imposed restrictions on VK might be a “minus” for bloggers, but not a fatal one: the apps will simply “stall” for a certain time, without updates or changes.

The expert also believes that Apple owners will not switch to Android smartphones just to use VK.

— Everyone will stay with their own, and I think that within the framework of 150 million people, the restrictions won't change the situation much, — Kuskov concluded.

“Apple has a dominant position in this case”

Apple removed VK from the App Store as part of compliance with sanctions policy toward Russia. Russian Internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev shared this opinion with the publication's correspondent. At the same time, determining why certain apps are removed from the store is quite difficult, he noted.

However, according to him, it is impossible to accuse the American company of violating any rights.

— This is essentially a dispute between economic entities, with one of them violating some norms, provisions, or rules, and accordingly, the second makes a decision based on that. Moreover, Apple has a dominant position in this case, since the partner network belongs to it, and the relationship is not initially parity-based. Imagine you run a business making buckets and renting them out. As the manufacturer, you say that only water can be carried in my buckets, not mercury. Later, you find out that someone carried mercury in your product. Accordingly, you have the right to accuse them of violating the rules and take the bucket back. The situation around Apple removing VK looks roughly the same, — the interlocutor explained.

At the same time, he suggested that there could be exceptions in this story.

— If national jurisdictions make decisions at the state level in terms of regulation, for example, antitrust legislation or legislation protecting the interests of citizens who are already involved in this technogenic network, then contradictions and obligations of action on the part of the manufacturer, that is, the vendor, could be considered. Perhaps, from the point of view of the higher global structure, Apple is right, but from the point of view of the company's actions on Russian territory — no, — Marinichev suggested.

“Apple's ecosystem, unlike the Android one, is quite centralized”

It will not be possible to circumvent the VK restrictions, believes Urvan Parfentyev, coordinator of the Safe Internet Center.

— The thing is that Apple's ecosystem, unlike the Android one, is quite centralized: the user receives all updates and new programs from a single source. Of course, the removed apps could take the simplest path: create some 'mirror apps' and try to push them onto the App Store, but in most cases, such 'mirrors' are removed. Another option is to use specially developed software that, let's say, can allow bypassing the established ecosystem restrictions and installing from other sources. In other words, VK could offer to download its app from its own site. However, it must be understood that to get such a thing onto your phone, you either need to download it from the App Store, which is no longer possible, or it will require quite serious software and technical knowledge, — the expert explained to the publication.

At the same time, Parfentyev suggested that the second option is within the reach of an advanced IT specialist with a “hacker bent," but an ordinary user will still need an app store.