Opposition activists in Russia accused Alphabet's Google and Apple of caving in to Kremlin pressure on Friday after they removed an anti-government tactical voting app from their stores on the first day of a parliamentary election.
The app, devised by allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, gives people detailed recommendations on who to vote for in an effort to thwart the electoral chances of the ruling United Russia party which supports President Vladimir Putin.
Members of Russia's upper house of parliament met Google and Apple representatives in the run-up to the election to tell them to remove the app or face serious consequences including fines and criminal prosecution.