Russia Requires Apple and Microsoft to Retain User Data for Three Years

Russia is requiring Apple and Microsoft to keep user data for three years and provide it to security departments upon request, with potential penalties for refusing to cooperate with the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) added the companies to its registry of “information dissemination organizers.”

Refusal to cooperate with the FSB could result in fines and, eventually, the companies’ services being blocked in Russia. The available details do not specify which user data must be retained or how large the fines could be.