LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the arrest of at least eight journalists and media workers by Russian authorities on fraud and extortion charges.
“Russian authorities should immediately release journalists and media workers recently arrested and ensure that the country’s judicial system is not used to silence critical voices,” the CPJ said in a statement on Tuesday.
Russian forces raided homes and carried out eight arrests between Aug. 1-16, according to sources.
Media outlets in the country confirmed that as of Tuesday at least seven journalists and Telegram media employees remained in custody.
Among them are Vladislav Malushenko, Yevgeny Moskvin and Aleksei Slobodenyuk, who run the Telegram channel Scanner.
According to Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo, the channel “is used to discredit those who disagree with the government” and has about 178,000 subscribers.
The three are accused of extorting money from Rostec, the state-owned defense conglomerate, in exchange for not publishing damaging information about the firm. Under Russian law, they face up to six years in jail if found guilty.
As part of efforts to control media coverage in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, news websites and social media have been subject to significant harassment by Moscow since the war began.
As a result, several independent media outlets in the country have shifted or stopped their operations entirely, and often rely on Telegram to share information, specifically news related to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Due to its lack of moderation and clear user guidelines, Telegram has also been used by pro-Russian operators to spread misinformation.
“The press freedom situation in Russia has only become more alarming since the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York.
“Russian authorities are increasingly charging journalists with financial crimes in apparent retaliation for their investigation into business and political issues.
“The Russian judicial system must not be used to silence critical voices, and authorities must immediately release all the journalists and media workers who remain in custody and drop all charges against them,” he added.
Watchdog condemns arrest of journalists, media workers by Russian authorities
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Watchdog condemns arrest of journalists, media workers by Russian authorities
- Eight detained after raids on homes between Aug. 1-16, sources say
- News websites and social media have been subject to significant harassment by Moscow
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
