Apple announced on Tuesday that it will halt the sale of all its products in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement to the media, Apple asserted that it was “deeply concerned” about the ongoing conflict before revealing actions it has taken in response.
“We have paused all product sales in Russia,” the company wrote. “Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country.”
But that wasn’t all. Apple added that services such as Apple Pay have been limited, while state-run media outlets such as RT and Sputnik have been booted from the App Store outside Russia.
Even traffic and live incidents data in Apple Maps for Ukraine was disabled as a safety and precautionary measure, aimed at limiting Russia’s visibility into the country.
“We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking,” the company added. “We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.”
Apple is just the latest company in a growing number of businesses spanning numerous industries that have taken action against Russia. Google likewise temporarily disabled live traffic data in Google Maps in order to protect communities across Ukraine.
While unclear if connected, Apple’s decision comes just days after Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Apple to take action.
“I appeal to you and I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe, and, finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression—to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to App Store,” Fedorov said in a letter to the company.
Fedorov, who is active on Twitter, continues to call on major tech companies to penalize Russia over the invasion.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/apple-halts-sales-russia-ukraine-invasion/