In preparations for Russia’s upcoming presidential election, the Kremlin has told officials to stop using iPhones. According to a report from Reuters, the decision was made “because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to Western intelligence agencies.”
The news was reported by Kommersant newspaper. The policy applies to any officials in the country who are “involved in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election.”
At a meeting for “officials involved in domestic politics,” Russia’s head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko gave officials until April 1 to ditch their iPhones.
The Kremlin may provide other devices with different operating systems to replace the iPhones, Kommersant said, adding that the order to cease using iPhones had been directed at those involved in domestic politics – for which Kiriyenko is responsible.
“It’s all over for the iPhone: either throw it away or give it to the children,” one of the officials reportedly said during the meeting. “Everyone will have to do it in March.”
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
Smartphones should not be used for official business. Any smartphone has a fairly transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system it has – Android or iOS. Naturally, they are not used for official purposes.
This follows Apple’s decision to halt all sales in Russia when the country invaded Ukraine last year.
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