The ‘January 1’ law also affects all Apple users who will be unable to use their iPhones and iPads.

According to Russian Internet rights spokesman Dmitry Marinichev, neither Apple nor any other company will have enough time to transfer their content to Russian territory by the beginning of 2015, Ridus writes.

“At the moment they are demanding the impossible. The tip of the icebergs of tasks is to buy servers, build or rent data centers and locate everything here. But besides this, the companies also have to replace their software, in order not to transfer personal data outside the country, which means practically all available software. It is absolutely unclear who will control all this and how. So it is impossible to do this starting January 1.”

Earlier the law was supposed to come into effect in September 2016, however State Duma members passed the amendments that stated the law would become effective on January 1, 2015.

According to the law, the ban will touch on all usual Internet services: starting with social media and ending with online shopping, as all of them send user data to servers outside of the country.

“You have a phone made by Apple, and an account with iCloud. These are your personal data which are stored in the Apple data center. According to the new law, you cannot use your iPhone starting January 1, because Apple cannot provide its services on Russian territory, as they store their personal Russian data in California,” the activist warned.

Only in case everything that has to do with cloud services is removed from the law, iOS users will be able to use their gadgets, noted Marinichev.

Dear readers! We need your help. COVID-19 has hit independent media outlets hard, but even more so in Ukraine, where most outlets are controlled by oligarchs. To make matters worse, several English-language media sources from Ukraine have closed recently. And even worse, this comes at a time of troubling government tendencies and amid a pro-Russian resurgence in Ukraine. Help keep us online and reporting on the most important of Ukrainian issues for you in these troubling times, bringing the voices of civic society to the forefront of the information war. Our articles are free for everyone to use but we depend on our readers to keep going. We are a small independent journalist team on a shoestring budget and have no political or state affiliation. If you like what you see, please Help keep us online and reporting on the most important of Ukrainian issues for you in these troubling times, bringing the voices of civic society to the forefront of the information war. Our articles are free for everyone to use but we depend on our readers to keep going. We are a small independent journalist team on a shoestring budget and have no political or state affiliation. If you like what you see, please support us with a donation

Related

Tags: Apple, international, iPhone, Russia, Russian sanctions against West