After a major pushback by tech giants, forced by Moscow to pull an opposition app, human rights advocates conclude that Apple and Google's grip on the mobile economy has several negative setbacks.

When Apple and Google give in to political pressure, the entire mobile Internet falls into the hands of authoritarian regimes. The two Californian groups have removed from their download platforms a mobile application designed by the movement of imprisoned opponent Alexei Navalny to inform voters about the candidates of the opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Only users who had already downloaded it could continue to use it, but without an update. The application made it possible to know for which competitor to vote in each constituency. In the past, this approach had met with some success, notably in Moscow in 2019.

The pressure had intensified in recent weeks. A Russian court has fined Facebook, Twitter and Google for refusing to remove content and Moscow has accused Google and Apple of "election interference". But so far, companies have resisted. For some activists, the problem wouldn't be so bad if Apple and Google weren't so dominant. Google's platform (Android) accounts for approximately 85% of mobile Internet access worldwide, and Apple's (iOS) platform accounts for around 15%.