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March 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 11
Apple provides details on compliance with Russian data-localization law
bne IntelliNews
While Facebook and Twitter are being exposed to administrative charges for non-compliance with Russia’s data localization law, Apple Inc. detailed the user data it is storing in Russia, reports East- West Digital News (EWDN).
Apple users in the region have data including their name, delivery address, email address and phone number stored on servers in Russia. The company said it collects that information for customer ser- vice and to send users information on new prod- ucts, according to a recent filing with the Russian government. The filing does not mention more personal data such as messages, documents, photos, and contacts that are often saved on Ap- ple’s iCloud service.
The move to store some data locally is not the first time Apple has agreed to the requests of the Rus- sian government. Last year, Apple stopped pub- lishing updates of the Telegram messaging ser- vice for about two months after the government
Apple Inc. detailed the user data it is storing in Russia.
asked Apple to pull the app from its App Store, according to the Telegram’s founder. Apple did not remove the app, though.
Adopted in 2014 and applicable since September 2015, the Russian data-localization law requires companies operating in the country to store Russian users’ or clients’ personal data on servers physi- cally located in the country. Numerous foreign and domestic players were concerned, including global players who tended to store their users’ data in bor- derless clouds (see white paper by EWDN and EY).
While many businesses — including Alibaba, AliExpress, Apple, and Google — have managed to transfer user data from foreign data centres to Russia, others refused or failed to comply so far, as exemplified by LinkedIn. In response, Roskom- nadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regula- tor, blocked access to this platform in November 2016, following a series of exchanges with the company and two court decisions.
Mail.Ru Group sells SK Gaming to Mercedes-Benz,” the first car maker to invest in an eSports team”
EWDN in Moscow
ESforce, a major eSports company acquired in early 2018 by Mail.ru Group, has sold SK Gaming, one of its key assets, to Daimler and football club FC Köln (FC Cologne), reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Russian business publication RBC wrote, based on company information, that its object was a 67% stake in the cybersports club.