The Kremlin has banned the use of the iPhone by its officials.
After the director of WhatsApp attacked Telegram for spying and with the imminent arrival of the presidential elections, the Kremlin has prohibited the use of iPhones by its officials due to existing concerns regarding “the vulnerability of the devices to the agencies “intelligence” Westerners. In other words, they accuse Apple and the United States of espionage.
According to reports from Reutersthe policy applies to any type of officer in the country who is embroiled in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election. They won’t be able to use an iPhone starting in March.
No Russian official will be allowed to use an iPhone during the presidential election process
The ban will come into force from March 2023. From Russia they are concerned about national security and want to make sure that no external problem influences the votes, as well as avoid any type of espionage or leaks.
This decision was made public during a meeting for “officials involved in domestic politics.” In it, the head of Russia’s presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, stated that Russian officials will no longer be able to use an iPhone and They will have until April 1 to get rid of the devices.
One of the officers attending the meeting was this blunt about the new policy:
“It’s over with the iPhone: you can now throw it away or give it to the children. Everyone will have to do it in March.”
As reported by Reuters, the Kremlin will provide officers with other devices with different operating systems to replace the iPhone. The order has been directed towards those officials involved in domestic politics.
For his part, Dmitry Peskov, representative of the Kremlin, recently made some public statements:
“Smartphones should not be used for official business. Any smartphone has a transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system it has, Android or iOS. Naturally, they are not used for official purposes.”
In the middle of 2022, Apple decided to stop selling products in Russia due to the Russian invasion. Just one of the many measures that have been taken against the country led by Vladimir Putin.