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Is Crimea Russian? U.S. And EU Say No, Apple Says Kremlin Can See What It Wants To

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

European Union and United States refuse to recognize Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. But Apple seems to oblige Russia in this. When the company's apps are used inside of Russia, they now show Crimea as part of that country, not Ukraine.

Our situation with Apple has now been resolved, Vasily Piskaryov (ph) of Russia's Duma said this week. We see that everything has happened the way we wanted it.

News accounts have noted that Apple also already accommodates the Chinese government by removing apps of foreign news outlets.

Apple's chief, Tim Cook, has said each country in the world decides their laws and their regulations. And so your choice is, do you participate, or do you stand on the sideline and yell at how things should be?

Yesterday, a company spokesperson said, we are taking a deeper look at how we handle disputed borders in our services and may make changes in the future as a result. Does that include an app for free speech?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.