Russian President Putin Signs Law Making It Mandatory To Have Russian Apps On Smartphones And Computers

Reuters: Putin signs law making Russian apps mandatory on smartphones, computers

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation requiring all smartphones, computers and smart TV sets sold in the country to come pre-installed with Russian software.

The law, which will come into force on July 1 next year, has been met with resistance by some electronics retailers, who say the legislation was adopted without consulting them.

The law has been presented as a way to help Russian IT firms compete with foreign companies and spare consumers from having to download software upon purchasing a new device.

The country’s mobile phone market is dominated by foreign companies including Apple, Samsung and Huawei. The legislation signed by Putin said the government would come up with a list of Russian applications that would need to be installed on the different devices.

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WNU Editor: Everyone in Russia is thinking that these apps will have some links to the FSB. But as I tell all my friends and family in Russia who are worried about this .... the FSB does not need to have an app on your smart phone to know what you are doing. They are already structured through the communication providers to spy on you if they want to.