Russian technology company VK has sued U.S. company Apple in a Moscow arbitration court after Apple removed its applications from the App Store.
VK asked the court to have the applications relisted on the App Store and restore push notification services for users. The company also requested that a daily fine be imposed if Apple fails to comply with the ruling.
The company argued that the applications were removed unilaterally and without prior notice. The requested daily damages were set at 58 million rubles, approximately $700,000.
Why Apple removed the applications
Apple removed VK’s applications from the App Store in early summer and said the decision was made to comply with international sanctions. The European Union announced sanctions against VK approximately one month after the decision.
VK also faces sanctions
Last month, the European Union sanctioned VK over its role in developing Max, a Kremlin-backed messaging application. Critics allege that Max was created for large-scale surveillance and censorship.
VK’s applications and the Max application were also removed from the Google Play Store.