On Wednesday, May 22, Vasilii Piskarev
Vasily Ivanovich
, Chairman of the Committee on Security and Corruption Control, and Leonid Levin
Leonid Leonidoviсh
, Chairman of the Committee on Informational Policy, Technologies and Communications, met with Vitaly Morozko,
Director of Apple Rus LLC. The head of the Russian distributor Apple informed
the parliamentarians about making corrections to the Maps and Weather
applications on the Apple electronic devices and correcting inaccuracies in the representation of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as Russian
territory.
Vitaly
Morozko informed the parliamentarians that the Crimean settlements on the maps
applications in Apple’s smartphones and tablets are displayed as the territory
of Russia after the corrections were made by the company. He also noted that
Apple Rus operates in the Russian legislative field and intends to strictly
comply with the country's legislation.
In their
turn, the Chairmen of the Committees Vasilii Piskarev and Leonid Levin
indicated to the head of Apple Rus LLC that not all software products were
corrected. For example, the Weather application displays Crimean cities but
they are not indicated as belonging to the Russian Federation, although in other cases the application tells in what country this or that city is located.
Representatives of Apple Rus LLC asked for additional time to consult with
Apple’s headquarters, located in the USA, and decide on the finalization of the software. Vitaly Morozko promised to report on the results of the work to the State Duma on May 29.
“The issues of correct representation of the borders of Russia and the territorial
affiliation of our cities in full compliance with the legislation of our
country remain under the control of the relevant committees of the State Duma.
This requirement applies to all companies operating in Russia, both domestic
and foreign,” said Vasilii Piskarev.
He also
reminded that Art. 19.10 of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes
administrative liability for violation of the established rules for assigning
or using the names of geographical objects.
“Constructive interaction with the global information technology giants shows the advantages of open dialogue, even though there is an attempt to drag us into the exchange of confrontational statements and restrictive measures. The Russian parliament is always open for discussion on any issues of mutual interest, but issues of national sovereignty, including compliance with domestic legislation, is not negotiable,” said Leonid Levin, Chairman of the Committee on Informational Policy, Technologies and Communications.
