Netflix, the world’s largest streaming platform, has bought the rights to Russia’s “Brother” (“Brat”) films and will make them available from June 1. The “Brother” series are Russian neo-noir crime dramas written and directed by Alexei Balabanov in 1997 and 2000. The series tells a story of Danila Bogrov, who has just returned from fighting …
Netflix acquires rights to Russia’s cult ‘Brat’ films Read More
Facebook said Russia and Iran are the internet’s leading spreaders of disinformation aimed at manipulating public opinion in a report published Thursday. Facebook researchers linked most of Russian operations to the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based troll factory that was also blamed by the U.S. intelligence community for 2016 election interference. “Facebook’s broader security strategy against …
Facebook accuses Russia of spreading disinformation Read More
Russia’s internet regulator has threatened to slow down Google services in Russia if it does not comply with requests to delete content within 24 hours. According to Roskomnadzor, Google has failed to remove 20-30% of links to content which are prohibited in Russia — a controversial category which includes content promoting drug use and featuring …
Russia gives Google 24-hour ultimatum to remove banned content Read More
Apple has filed a lawsuit against Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), challenging a $12 million fine. The Moscow Arbitration Court has accepted the claim and scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 21. On April 27, the FAS fined Apple 906 million rubles (around $12 million) for abusing its dominant position in the apps market. According to a previous …
Apple challenges $12 million fine in Russian court Read More
Russia’s antitrust authority has fined Apple $12 million over a case first brought against the Silicon Valley giant by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. “Apple was found to have abused its dominant position in the distribution of mobile applications on the iOS operating system through a series of actions that led to a competitive advantage for …
Russia fines Apple $12 million for blocking third-party apps Read More
In a meeting with EU foreign ministers, Ukraine’s top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba joined the chorus of voices calling for Russia to be disconnected from SWIFT — the financial messaging network that underpins the global banking system. The proposal — long popular among those who favor slapping hard-hitting sanctions on Russia — has picked up new …
Should Russian banks be scared of SWIFT disconnection? Read More
Russia has launched a probe against YouTube for “abusing” its dominant position in the market by making “biased” decisions about comment moderation, a government regulator said on Monday. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said that YouTube’s rules relating to the suspension or deletion of accounts are “opaque, biased and unpredictable.” “This leads to sudden blocking and …
Russia’s competition watchdog has launched a formal probe into Yandex, alleging the country’s largest technology company could be abusing its dominant position in the search market to promote its own services at the expense of competitors. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said Tuesday that Yandex has failed to comply with a previous warning that it must stop favoring …
Anti-monopoly authority open case against Yandex for abusing search dominance Read More
Ford is set to become the first automaker to launch mass production of electric vehicles in Russia, the Kommersant newspaper has reported. The U.S. car giant, through a joint venture with Russian firm Sollers, will start making electric versions of its Ford Transit vans at a plant in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan from 2022, a company …
Ford to become first mass producer of electric vehicles in Russia Read More
Telegram has sold more than $1 billion in bonds to international investors, founder Pavel Durov announced Tuesday, with Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF now among the firm’s backers. Durov, who founded Russia’s leading social network VKontakte before launching messaging app Telegram, said the investment will “enable Telegram to continue growing globally, while sticking to its …
Telegram raises $1 billion with Russian sovereign wealth fund buying bonds Read More
A Kremlin attempt to slow down Twitter caused government websites to crash and raised new questions about its ambitious plans to regulate the internet. Wednesday last week was supposed to be a big day for Andrei Lipov, a 51-year-old Russian top official trusted with the Kremlin’s most sensitive internet initiatives. A not very successful internet …
Russia’s pursuit of Internet sovereignty backfires, again Read More
As the value of Bitcoin soared this year, bringing cryptocurrencies back into the global spotlight, Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny saw his team’s crypto wallet fatten. Public blockchain data shows that a Bitcoin address tied to Navalny received 3.5 Bitcoin ($120,000) at the end of January as supporters rushed to donate to the Kremlin critic …
