Anyone who buys an Apple device receives an extensive range of electronic shopping and subscription options: films and series, music, books, podcasts – and the App Store, which is the only permitted source of software on mobile platforms in most countries. There is also iCloud, which allows multiple devices to be synchronized smoothly. In the future, users in Russia will no longer be able to make purchases via Apple’s services. The reason: The last option to transfer funds to Apple is no longer available. In a support document, Apple describes the new circumstance and the consequences that arise from it: As soon as the existing credit in the Apple account is used up, subscriptions for Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Fitness+ and Apple Arcade expire. (Paid) podcast subscriptions also end, as do in-app subscriptions. Purchasing music tracks and ringtones in the iTunes Store as well as new apps in the various app stores is also no longer possible.
No iCloud+ in Russia
The end of existing subscriptions to the iCloud+ synchronization service has a severe impact. iCloud is deeply integrated into Apple’s operating systems and synchronizes settings, passwords, documents, contacts and, if desired, the picture collection. If you need more space than the five GBytes granted free of charge, you have to pay monthly or annually. If you cannot continue the subscription, you will still have access to the uploaded data and can download photos and videos. The automatic comparison of photos and documents only works again when the amount of data falls below the 5 GB mark.
Decree of the Russian Federation
The cause: The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation cut off the last route through which Russian users could transfer money to Apple accounts. This was only possible via mobile phone accounts; At the beginning of the month, the ministry banned four mobile phone companies from offering this option. Rumor has it that this is intended to prevent Russian users from booking VPN connections to uncensored foreign countries.
Penalty for breach of sanctions
But Apple is also threatened with trouble from other quarters due to actions in its dealings with Russia: Apple apparently paid App Store proceeds totaling $844,145 to the Russian streaming provider Okko by October 2022, even though it was on Great Britain’s sanctions list. Since Apple Ireland’s payment processing was carried out through a British bank, Apple was committing a criminal offense. A fine could have been up to $1.3 million; However, since Apple independently reported the payment and waived its right to appeal, the penalty was reduced to $517,946.25.
