EU Sanctions VKontakte and Russian Tech Firms

On Monday, the EU expanded its sanctions against Russia, imposing new restrictive measures on individuals and entities accused of cybercrime and systematic human rights violations.

Among those sanctioned are the Russian social media platform VKontakte and its subsidiary, Communication Platform LLC. The EU said the companies played a direct role in developing and operating MaxApp, an application that is mandatory on all smartphones sold in Russia and operates under the supervision of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

According to the EU, MaxApp is used to suppress critics of the war in Ukraine and to remove content prohibited by the Kremlin.

The sanctions also target the technology companies Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans. The firms develop and supply hardware and software for Russia's state surveillance system, which the EU says is used to monitor phone calls, emails, text messages and social media activity.

In a statement, the EU said the surveillance network is used to target journalists, opposition figures, minorities and ordinary citizens.

Brussels also added officers from Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, as well as cybercriminals and companies accused of carrying out activities aimed at destabilizing Europe. The EU further accused the FSB of directing several cyber threat groups responsible for malicious cyber operations.

(Reuters, Max)