Gadget manufacturers will be required to receive ‘explicit rejection’ from apps – RBC

• Include in the list of programs for preinstalled applications for reading e-books;
• Applications pre-installed on the device screen must be presented in the same form (with equal or less procedures for operation and use) as applications of the same category, of which the copyright holders are the device manufacturer, operating system developer or its affiliates;
• It should be possible to remove previously installed programs.

The law on mandatory pre-installation of Russian software on smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs with Smart TV functionality sold in the country came into force in April 2021: all devices sold in the country of manufacture must be pre-installed after this date. The types of applications, the selection criteria for specific programs and how exactly the installation should take place are determined by Resolution No. 1867, adopted in November 2020: The list of specific applications is determined by the Ministry of Digital Sciences on the basis of the annual classification, which will include applications with an audience of at least 500,000 users over the past year, excluding certain categories of software. In each category, manufacturers must install an app from one or two companies if the difference between the number of users is less than 5%. The exception is social networks, where it is necessary to install two Russian applications and audiovisual services (10).

Now the most supported applications are VK services (until recently it was called Mail.ru Group) and Yandex, they also include Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus, the Mir payment system, and so on. To date, three programs can be installed: complete installation in the device’s memory by placing the program icon on the screen, by pressing which one the user can download the application; By setting a dialog in which the user can load programs from each category when the device is turned on for the first time.

At the end of August, Anton Gorelkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, asked the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs Maksut Shadaev to verify the implementation of the Preinstallation Act by Apple. As TASS wrote, according to the deputy, iPhone users encountered difficulties when using Russian applications: you can skip the selection screen, and when you try to install, an error dialog appears, after which you can return to the selection screen only from the settings menu. “By default, the Google search engine is installed on Apple smartphones, with no options for choosing Russian counterparts,” Gurelkin noted.

At the same time, at the end of September, the government approved Yandex as a search engine; From January 1, it should be used by default on gadgets sold in Russia. In addition, some of the amendments included in the draft were previously published by the Ministry of Digital Sciences on the portal Regulation.gov.ru. Therefore, in the spring, the ministry proposed the introduction of the ability to remove pre-installed applications in response to user complaints. At the same time, Izvestia, referring to the draft amendments to the government decree prepared by the Tsifra Ministry, wrote that in addition to ordering to read books, it was planned to expand the list with three more services necessary for pre-installation. : an electronic store, a service for listening to music and conferencing. However, the Consortium of Internet Trade Companies opposed pre-installation of marketplaces.

RBC has sent a request to the Ministry of Digital and Apple.