Russia's data protection laws state that websites and service operating in the nation have to keep its citizens' data on servers within its borders. Since the Microsoft-owned website doesn't, the country started blocking it shortly after the ruling. Its apps stopped working properly after that, but that clearly wasn't enough for the Federation.

While countries like China and Russia have been blocking their people from accessing various websites for a long time, forcing companies that run app stores to delete applications is fairly new. Just a few days ago, Apple pulled The New York Times' app in China after the country decided it was in "violation of local regulations." As New America's Rebecca MacKinnon told NYT, "Apps are the new choke point of free expression."