On the second day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop providing his services and products to the Russian Federation in response to the invasion. Also Read – Tech Companies Like Apple, Facebook and Uber Respond to Russian Invasion of Ukraine
In an open letter, he called on Cook “to stop providing Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the App Store!” In his tweet, Fedorov also added: “We are sure that such actions will motivate the young people and working population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.” He also appeals to the youth and working population of Russia to resist the invasion. Read also – Ukrainian crisis: chipmakers anticipate limited impact on chip shortage
I have contacted @tim_cook, CEO of Apple, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation and support the US government’s sanctions package! If you agree to have the president-killer, then you will have to settle for the only available site Russia 24. pic.twitter.com/b5dm78g2vS Read also – Ukraine-Russia conflict: Facebook and Twitter come forward to help Ukrainians
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 25, 2022
David Kaye, a UC Irvine law professor and former UN special rapporteur, also retweeted this tweet, but he thinks cutting off access to the App Store may not stop them from communicating. .
I sympathize a lot with instinct, but wonder how cutting off Russian citizens’ access to the App Store would affect their ability to communicate, protest, organize, use VPNs… https://t.co/drhkWvLwOP
—David Kaye (@davidakaye) February 25, 2022
For the uninitiated, Tim Cook had recently tweeted about the current situation in Ukraine, promising that Apple would continue to “support local humanitarian efforts”. However, he did not respond to the call from the Ukrainian Minister of Technology.
I am deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are doing everything we can for our teams there and will support local humanitarian efforts. I think of the people who are currently in danger and I join with all those who call for peace.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 25, 2022
Not only Tim Cook, other tech industry leaders, including Richard Branson, have responded to the Ukraine crisis. According to the founder of Virgin Group Blog post by Richard Branson, “To be perfectly clear, this war is Putin’s war, and his choice alone. This is a unilateral and unprovoked act of aggression that must not only be condemned in the strongest terms, but receive the strongest responses. ”
The full range of sanctions must be imposed, and Ukraine deserves the full support of the global community. https://t.co/FVLWEJkr9Z
—Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 24, 2022
