21 Sep 2022 13:30

Court upholds 2-mln-ruble fine on Apple over refusal to localize Russian users' data

MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - Moscow's Tagansky District Court has dismissed an appeal from Apple Inc., which was found guilty of refusing to localize the personal data of Russian users on Russian territory, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom on Wednesday.

"The appeal is dismissed," the judge said.

Back in mid-July, a magistrates' court fined the company 2 million rubles, having found it in violation of Part 8 Article 13.11 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (the failure of an operator gathering personal data to comply with the duty of recording, systematization and storage of personal data of Russian citizens in databases on Russian territory).

As reported earlier, Apple Inc. representatives told the court that the corporation was not responsible for gathering personal data in Russia. "The entity that is gathering data in Russia is not held to account. Apple Inc. has been charged, while Apple Distribution is responsible for data processing," the lawyer said. The defense team asked the court not to hold Apple Inc. liable.

Still, a representative of Roskomnadzor, the federal communications watchdog, told the court that Apple Inc. served as the administrator of the Apple website where the data are gathered. "The corporate website does not provide information about other legal entities, so we believe that the motion has been drafted correctly," she said.

The company's Russian branch, Apple Rus. LLC, formally notified Roskomnadzor in December 2018 about the localization of Russian users' data on Russian territory and was added to the register of personal data operators.

Roskomnadzor said earlier that the personal data of Russian users had been localized by about 600 branches of foreign companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, PayPal, Booking.com, and LG.

The LinkedIn social network has been blocked in Russia for breaching the localization requirement. Moscow's Tagansky District Court upheld the respective motion from Roskomnadzor in 2016.