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<ul><li>Ukraine is upset with Apple over annexing Crimea as Russian territory on Maps and Weather apps within the country. <br /></li><li>This is not the first time digital maps have been augmented to placate governments. <br /></li><li>Google Maps uses the same strategy for Arunachal Pradesh and the Demchok region in Ladakh to placate both China and India.<br /></li></ul>Ukraine <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/apple-doesnt-give-a-damn-that-russia-stole-ukraines-heart/articleshow/72276226.cms">cried foul</a> over Apple showing Crimea as a part of Russian territory in Maps and Weather apps on the iPhone. Even though the change is only visible on iPhones operating in Russia, it sets a dangerous precedent for other disputed territories around the world.<br /><br />Apple, in its own way, legitimised the claim of the Russian government. “After all, maps are not neutral, irrespective of the purpose for which they are used. The very act of referring to a country’s map is often a political statement,” according to a <a href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/drawing-lines-internet-border-conflicts-politics-behind-digital-maps-51693/">report</a> by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).<br /><br /><a href="http://metrocosm.com/disputed-territories-map.html">Metrocosm</a>’s map of the disputed territories around the world shows that nearly three-quarters of all countries are engaged in at least one dispute over its national borders — and Apple’s not the only one trying to find political balance.<br /><br /><strong>Google Maps does the same thing<br /></strong><br />China and India have been at odds for years over the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, south of the McMahon Line. And, Google didn’t want to make either country angry.<br /><br />When Google Maps is accessed from India it shows the state as a part of Indian territory. But, when it’s accessed from the <a href="http://www.google.cn/">Chinese Google</a>, it shows that Arunachal Pradesh as a part of Chinese territory, according to data by the ORF.<br /><br />This decision was made back in 2009 following outrage over the previous version of the map during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh during the state elections.<br /><br />Tibet, a nation that India supports for its independence but China lays claim to, is also warped on Google Maps. When navigating to the Ngari prefecture from Demchok in Leh — in India — there is no alert aside from one, which informs the user that they may be entering a different time zone. <br /><br />Mapping the same destination from China puts Demchok in Chinese territory and shows no route at all.<br /><br />This is despite the fact that Demchok was the location of a stand-off between the Chinese and India military forces in 2018.<br /><br />It’s not just about India. In 2010, Nicaraguan troops marched into Costa Rica because the stretch of land was Nicaraguan territory on Google Maps, according to the man leading the charge — Commander Pastora.<br /><br /><strong>See also:<br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/apple-doesnt-give-a-damn-that-russia-stole-ukraines-heart/articleshow/72276226.cms">Apple 'doesn't give a damn' that Russia stole Ukraine's heart</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/facebooks-ex-security-boss-alex-stamos-slams-apple-as-shameful-for-changing-its-maps-to-suit-a-demand-from-the-russian-government/articleshow/72266920.cms">Facebook's ex-security boss Alex Stamos slams Apple as 'shameful' for changing its maps to suit a demand from the Russian government</a><br /><br /><br />

Apple had to bow to Russia just like Google had to bow to India and China

<ul><li>Apple Maps and Weather apps on iPhones in Russia now show Crimea as a part of Russian territory.</li><li>Ukraine’s foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, reacted with a tweet saying Apple ‘doesn’t give a damn’ that Ukraine’s heart was stolen.</li><li>According to the Russian government, Apple was only fulfilling its ‘obligations’.</li></ul>Apple is in the midst of a new controversy after mapping the region East European peninsula of Crimea as a part of Russia on its Maps and Weather apps — and Ukraine’s not happy about it. <br /><br />It may have bought it goodwill with Russia but the action has gotten strong disapproval from the Ukrainian government.<br /><br />The country’s foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, tweeted that it was as though Apple ‘didn’t give a damn’ that Ukraine had its heart stolen by Russia.<br /><br />
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="VPrystaiko" handlename="Vadym Prystaiko" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1169145206899380226/9-va9lPH_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1128" retweetcount="469" status="Let me explain in your terms, @Apple. Imagine you're crying out that your design &amp; ideas, years of work &amp; piece of… https://t.co/CWpcpetQP7" createdat="1574872360000" id="1199727752468930562"></div>





<br />The Ukrainian embassy in the US also tweeted its displeasure stating that they wouldn’t be giving Apple any ‘thanks’ this Thanksgiving.<br /><br />
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="UKRintheUSA" handlename="UKR Embassy in USA" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/865719683470639105/1se5mjle_normal.jpg" favoritecount="731" retweetcount="457" status="We guess Ukrainians not giving any thanks to @Apple this #Thanksgiving!   So let’s all remind Apple that… https://t.co/9Gri9kdt5P" createdat="1574878169000" id="1199752117474545665"></div>





<br /><br />The <a href="http://duma.gov.ru/en/news/47107/">Russian government</a> claims that it was an Apple representative that pointed out the “inaccuracy in displaying the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol”. In correcting that mistake, Apple was only fulfilling its “obligations”.<br /><br />
  
  <div type="ExtQuote" text="[Committee on Security and Corruption Control head] Vasilii Piskarev noted that Apple fulfilled its obligations and brought the applications on its devices in compliance with the requirements of the Russian legislation." auname="Statement by Russian government"></div>





<br /><br /><strong>The fight over Crimea<br /></strong><br />The region of Crimea has been disputed territory between the two nations since 2014 when Russian troops invaded the peninsula. The act was condemned internationally.<br /><br />Russia then called for a referendum to decide whether Crimea should be reintegrated into Russia — since the majority of its population speaks Russian — or whether the Crimean constitution of 1992 should be reinstated, which gives the region more autonomy from Ukraine.<br /><br />The international community cried foul yet again pointing out that the referendum was illegal and illegitimate.  <br /><br />As a result of these incursions, Russia was ousted from the G8 and many countries imposed sanctions as a way to retaliate.<br /><br />The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50573069">BBC</a> has pointed out that only iPhones in Russia that display the map modification. iPhones in the rest of the world don’t assign Crimea a country.<br /><br /><strong>See also:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/facebooks-ex-security-boss-alex-stamos-slams-apple-as-shameful-for-changing-its-maps-to-suit-a-demand-from-the-russian-government/articleshow/72266920.cms">Facebook's ex-security boss Alex Stamos slams Apple as 'shameful' for changing its maps to suit a demand from the Russian government</a><br /></strong>

Apple 'doesn't give a damn' that Russia stole Ukraine's heart

<p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Apple CEO Timothy Cook returns from a break in his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Investigations Subcommittee about the company's offshore profit shifting and tax avoidance</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Apple met with Ukraine's foreign minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in what appears to be the first public meeting after Apple's controversial decision to display Crimea as Russian territory on two of its most popular apps.</li><li>Ukraine's foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko tweeted a picture of himself with Apple executive Lisa Jackson, and said some "outstanding issues" of a political nature were up for discussion.</li><li>In November 2019, Apple started to display Crimea as Russian territory on its Maps and Weather apps from inside Russia - a move slammed by Prystaiko and other critics.</li><li>Business Insider has approached Apple for comment and clarification about the way it plans to display Crimea on its Apple Maps and Weather apps when viewed from Russia.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international?r=US&amp;IR=T">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>Apple executive Lisa Jackson met with Ukraine's foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko at Davos, two months after Apple controversially altered two apps to display annexed Crimea as part of Russia. </p><p>Prystaiko <a href="https://twitter.com/VPrystaiko/status/1220088512436998149">tweeted a photo of himself alongside Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives</a>.</p><p>His tweet said the pair discussed Apple's "next steps" in the Ukrainian market, with a follow-up tweet hinting that the Crimea issue was also discussed. </p><p>He wrote: "[Ukraine has a] growing pool of loyal customers, creative IT class, improving business climate - all the ingredients for beneficial cooperation are in place."</p><p>In a follow-up he added: "2/2 Protection of IPR, 'grey market sales' and some outstanding issues of a political nature are being resolved, too."</p><p>This appears to be the first public meeting since Apple altered its apps.</p><p>In November 2019, Apple <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50573069">started to display Crimea as Russian territory</a> on Apple Maps and its Weather app when the apps were viewed from Russia.</p><p>Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine but was annexed by Russia by 2014. The UN <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-26779937/ukraine-crisis-un-declares-crimea-vote-illegal">has declared the Moscow referendum</a> which led to that annexation illegal. The US has also <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-issues-crimea-declaration-reaffirming-rejection-of-russia-s-annexation/29390681.html">rejected</a> Russia's annexation of the region.</p><p>But Apple was in discussions with the Russian Duma for several months over how to display Crimea in its apps - with <a href="http://duma.gov.ru/en/news/47107/">the Duma insisting Apple correct what it saw as an "inaccuracy."</a></p><p>When Apple's decision to show Crimea as part of Russia became apparent in November, Prystaiko condemned the company, <a href="https://twitter.com/JonahFisherBBC/status/1220091612598063104/photo/1">comparing it to</a> "[somebody] ignorant [that] doesn't give a damn about your pain."</p><p>At the time, Apple issued a statement explaining that it had altered its apps inside Russia thanks to a new law that "required us to update the map within Russia." The company added that it was "taking a deeper look at how we handle disputed borders in our services and may make changes in the future as a result."</p><p>It's not yet clear if Apple has changed, or plans to change, the way it displays Crimea on its Apple Maps and Weather apps when viewed from Russia.</p><p>Business Insider has approached Apple for comment.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bi-intelligence-daily?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=apple&amp;itm_campaign=bi-intelligence-daily"></a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airplane-food-tastes-different-explained-2020-1">Why food tastes different on planes</a></h3>

Apple met with Ukraine's foreign minister at Davos and it looks like they discussed Apple's controversial decision to alter its maps to please Russia

<ul><li>The Indian government has issued a sternly worded warning to <keyword id="1987529" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter-CEO">Twitter CEO</keyword> Jack Dorsey over the misrepresentation of <keyword id="17605" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword> as a part of <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>.</li><li>Even though <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> does not have its own map service, it was geo-tagging the location of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of the People’s Republic of China for Indian users.</li><li>India’s IT secretary, Ajay Sawhney, conveyed that any attempt by Twitter to disrespect India’s sovereignty and integrity is unacceptable and unlawful.<br /></li></ul>The Indian government has often been at odds with social networking giants, and the newest irritant between the two parties is India’s map. India’s IT secretary, Ajay Sawhney, has written a harshly worded letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over the misrepresentation of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of China. <br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="BharatShaktiBSI" handlename="BharatShakti.in" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1279004826693558278/Vso-sA2v_normal.jpg" favoritecount="39" retweetcount="12" status="A serious anamoly of misrepresentation of Geo- location in Leh/Ladakh on Twitter was brought out to the notice of p… https://t.co/S6AaXdWFhw" createdat="1603351160000" id="1319176497358274560"></div><br />According to Sawhney, any attempt by Twitter to disrespect India’s sovereignty and integrity — which includes how its territory is shown on maps — is totally unacceptable. More worryingly, it’s unlawful.<br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="nitingokhale" handlename="Nitin A. Gokhale" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1318794278429077506/e6FYWM1q_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2605" retweetcount="1803" status="Tweeple pl put Hall of Fame Leh as your location for live broadcast and see what’s happening. It shows location as… https://t.co/7Q0nnmdmbs" createdat="1603003998000" id="1317720395038949376"></div><br />Even though Twitter does not have its own map service, it does geo-tag Jammu and Kashmir as a part of the People's Republic of China. Earlier this week, when security analyst Nitin A Gokhale went live on the platform, it showed that he was broadcasting from China rather than from India while he was in Leh. <br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="nitingokhale" handlename="Nitin A. Gokhale" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1318794278429077506/e6FYWM1q_normal.jpg" favoritecount="348" retweetcount="179" status="There you are. Someone else also tried it. Same result https://t.co/VfRzV3PMvu" createdat="1603004122000" id="1317720915069693952"></div><br /><strong>Twitter is not alone<br /></strong>Twitter is not alone in its struggle to balance local laws against global guidelines. Google, Apple and other services have had to address similar issues in the past.<br /><br />For example, if an IP address from India accesses Google Maps, it shows Jammu and Kashmir as a part of the country. But when Google Maps is accessed from other parts of the world, the borders are <a href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/drawing-lines-internet-border-conflicts-politics-behind-digital-maps-51693/">shown as a dotted line</a> indicating that the area is disputed territory. <br /><br />The decision to do so was taken back in 2009 following outrage over the disputed map when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh during the state election.<br /><br />Even Ukraine got upset with Apple <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/apple-had-to-bow-to-russia-just-like-google-had-to-bow-to-india-and-china/articleshow/72276321.cms">over annexing Crimea as Russian territory</a> on Google Maps and Weather. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/hcl-tech-is-bringing-employees-back-to-offices-weekly-once-to-start-with/articleshow/78802219.cms">EXCLUSIVE: HCL Tech is bringing employees back to offices — once a week to begin with</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/kumar-mangalam-birla-says-cement-industry-is-recovering-and-analysts-find-evidence-of-it-outside-ultratech-too/articleshow/78791281.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla is surprised by the rebound in infrastructure and construction in India</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/bonus-for-30-lakh-public-sector-employees-announced-by-union-cabinet/articleshow/78786783.cms"><strong>Bonus for 30 lakh public sector employees announced by Union Cabinet</strong></a><br />

Twitter CEO is facing fire from India after a map showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of China

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Apple has listed Crimea is part of Russia on its services while inside Russia.</strong></li><li><strong>The country illegally annexed the Ukrainian region in 2014, a move that was condemned by the United States and the international community.</strong></li><li><strong>Alex Stamos, Facebook's former Facebook chief, has slammed Apple's decision to display the Ukrainian region as part of Russia.</strong></li><li><strong>The exec called it "shameful" and said it highlighted Apple's "docile" workforce compared to other, more outspoken companies.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Apple's decision to list Ukraine's Crimean peninsula as part of Russia has been slammed as "shameful" by Facebook's former security chief, Alex Stamos.</p><p>On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50573069">the BBC reported that while inside Russia, Apple's apps now show Crimea as part on the country</a>. The region is a part of Ukraine, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/03/18/five-years-after-crimeas-illegal-annexation-the-issue-is-no-closer-to-resolution/">and was illegally annexed by the Russian military in 2014</a>. The United States has <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-issues-crimea-declaration-reaffirming-rejection-of-russia-s-annexation/29390681.html">rejected Russia's claim of sovereignty over Crimea and decried its "occupation"</a> - but California-headquartered Apple has acquiesced to the Russian government's request for it to be portrayed as Russian territory in services like Apple Maps and Weather.</p><p>Stamos, the chief security officer for Facebook from 2015-18 who is outspoken on security and geopolitical issues, has weighed in on Twitter to blast Apple's actions.</p><p>"Apple's shameful behavior in Russia and China shows: A) The benefit to management of having a docile, internally-isolated employee base. B) The downsides of shipping a physical product, which strengthens the leverage governments have over a company," he wrote.</p><p>Apple was not immediately available for comment.</p><p>Apple's actions highlight how multinational technology companies have become pressured by - and are increasingly acquiescing to - authoritarian governments over their products, even when the changes requested are antithetical to liberal, democratic values.</p><p>Stamos added: "An emerging consensus in Silicon Valley that 'we follow the law' is an appropriate response to global calls to regulate tech, even when incompatible with corporate ideals."</p><p>Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, V<a href="https://twitter.com/vprystaiko/status/1199725757762850819">adym Prystaiko, also dinged Apple, tweeting</a>: "iPhones are great products. Seriously, though, @Apple, please, please, stick to high-tech and entertainment. Global politics is not your strong side. #CrimeaIsUkraine"</p><p>The security exec also drew a comparison between Google's famously vocal and politically engaged employee base and Apple's, which has not seen the same kind of worker protests and internal organising actions that have roiled other tech companies in recent years.</p><p>"There is an apocryphal claim that UC Davis lacks a central square due to the experience of the Regents dealing with student unrest at Berkeley in Sproul Plaza," he wrote. "The next generation of tech leaders will learn the same lesson from the experience of Apple's vs Google's management."</p><h2>Here's Alex Stamos' full string of tweets:</h2><p><em><strong>Do you work at Apple?</strong>&#xa0;Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/robaeprice">@robaeprice</a>. (PR pitches by email only, please.)</em></p><h3><strong>Read more:</strong></h3><ul><li><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-hyp3r-saving-instagram-users-stories-tracking-locations-2019-8">Instagram's lax privacy practices let a trusted partner track millions of users' physical locations, secretly save their stories, and flout its rules</a></strong></em></li><li><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-security-chief-liam-booth-misconduct-allegations-facebook-2019-5">Mark Zuckerberg's personal security chief accused of sexual harassment and making racist remarks about Priscilla Chan by 2 former staffers</a></strong></em></li><li><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-uploaded-1-5-million-users-email-contacts-without-permission-2019-4">Facebook says it 'unintentionally uploaded' 1.5 million people's email contacts without their consent</a></strong></em></li><li><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-old-posts-mark-zuckerberg-disappeared-2019-3">Years of Mark Zuckerberg's old Facebook posts have vanished. The company says it 'mistakenly deleted' them.</a></strong></em></li></ul><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bi-intelligence-daily?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=apple&amp;itm_campaign=bi-intelligence-daily"></a></p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>

Facebook's ex-security boss Alex Stamos slams Apple as 'shameful' for changing its maps to suit a demand from the Russian government

<div><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lazaro Gamio/Axios</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Members of the new Congress plan to float a wide range of new privacy legislation this year, with location data at the heart of the debate. </strong></li><li><strong>New laws will need to thread the needle between protecting personal information and enabling useful innovation</strong>.</li></ul><p>Our phones' GPS and location capabilities are a key part of what make them magical - enabling them to speed our commutes, hail rides, and find the devices when we lose them. These capabilities are also ground zero for the looming fight over defining the boundaries of privacy and acceptable uses of our personal information.</p><p><strong>The big picture:</strong><span> </span>Three recent stories show just how common problems with location data can be - and how thorny they've become.</p></div><div id="hidden-6177bbc4-92df-4b8a-ba72-e0c956efc51f" aria-hidden="false" aria-expanded="true"><div><ol><li><strong>Cell providers resell location info</strong></li></ol><ul><li>Motherboard's story exposing<span> </span><a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nepxbz/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-dollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile">a shadowy marketplace in the resale of location data</a><span> </span>tracking individual phones raised alarms that last week led all the major U.S. wireless carriers to announce they would<span> </span><a href="https://www.axios.com/wireless-providers-vow-end-sharing-location-data--4d882a84-8a29-490d-be14-0791a21f7d23.html">stop selling the repositories of data</a><span> </span>that make such tracking possible.</li><li>That's a relief to anyone who'd prefer to keep their location private.</li><li>Yet we welcome similar reuse of location data that allows services like Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps to tell us the fastest route between 2 points.</li><li>Those traffic guides anonymize data and shouldn't enable third parties track you down.</li><li>But no anonymizing scheme is perfect. And the tighter we draw privacy rules the more likely we are to hobble valuable services, now or down the road.</li></ul><p>2.<span> </span><strong>Tweet locations reveal where you live</strong></p><ul><li>For years, Twitter's geolocation tagging of user's tweets also gave developers access to detailed GPS coordinates for each message posted from a phone.</li><li>As Wired reports, researchers have now used this data to build<span> </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-location-data-gps-privacy/">a tool that can determine where many Twitter users live</a><span> </span>with 90% accuracy.</li><li>Twitter argues that its geolocation feature has always been opt-in and voluntary, and in 2015 it started blocking the more detailed GPS information.</li><li>Still, this research highlights how common it is for online and mobile services to "leak" more information about you than you realize.</li></ul><p>3.<span> </span><strong>Slack monitors your itinerary</strong></p><ul><li>Slack users who have traveled to countries or areas that are embargoed by the U.S. - like Cuba, Syria, Iran, or Crimea - and used the workplace messaging app there<span> </span><a href="https://mashable.com/article/slack-banning-users-from-iran-cuba-sanctioned-countries/#1sGaQQY3giO0">found their accounts suspended last month</a>, Mashable reports.</li><li>Mashable cites users visiting family in Iran or vacationing in Crimea as being surprised that their personal trips were triggering Slack's suspension mechanism.</li><li>Slack says it was just complying with the U.S.'s economic sanctions laws, and it is using internet addresses, not GPS data, to track logins from embargoed nations.</li><li>The company issued<span> </span><a href="https://slackhq.com/an-apology-and-an-update">a broad apology,</a><span> </span>saying that it had restored accounts suspended in error and in the future would block access from affected internet addresses but not suspend user accounts.</li><li>The incident illustrates how tricky it can be for private companies to comply with complex laws governing electronic communications.</li></ul><p><strong>What's next:<span> </span></strong>Members of the new Congress plan to float a wide range of new privacy legislation this year, with location data at the heart of the debate. New laws will need to thread the needle between protecting personal information and enabling useful innovation.</p><p><strong>Bottom line</strong>: Your phone is also a surveillance device. Use it with care unless you want your life to be an open book - or map.</p></div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-sales-slowed-stock-plunge-2019-1">How Apple went from a $1 trillion company to losing over 20% of its share price in 3 months</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Your phone is also a surveillance device, and it's turning your life into a map

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>On December 2 Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill mandating that all Russian smartphones and devices come pre-installed with certain Kremlin-approved apps.</strong></li><li><strong>The bill is sometimes referred to as the "law against Apple," as it threatens Apple's strict policy of not allowing third-party apps to be pre-installed on its devices.</strong></li><li><strong>Apple has six months to fight the law before it comes into force, and could face having to leave the Russian market altogether.</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>The next six months could see a major dogfight between Apple and the Kremlin.</p><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-internet-software-idUSKBN1Y61Z4">signed a law on December 2</a> mandating foreign smart devices sold in Russia come pre-installed with a list of government-approved Russian apps. The list has not been drawn up yet.</p><p>The law is part of a pattern of legislation granting the Russian state greater control over its citizens' digital lives, including <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50902496">the creation of an isolated "sovereign internet."</a> More specifically however this law poses a major problem to Apple, which doesn't allow third-party apps to come pre-installed on its devices. The new bill is sometimes informally referred to as the "law against Apple." </p><p>Apple fiercely guards its right to only have its homegrown apps pre-installed on iPhones and iPads, arguing pre-installing only its own apps improves its phones' performance, battery life, privacy, and security. The policy <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-02/iphone-ios-users-can-t-change-default-apps-safari-mail-music">drew antitrust scrutiny</a> from US lawmakers in October last year because of the home advantage it gives Apple's apps.</p><p>The new Russian law will come into force in July of this year, and Apple has until then to decide how it will react. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/12/05/its-apple-vs-putin-as-russias-new-smartphone-ban-approaches/#271152441786">Per Forbes' translation</a> of Russian weekly The Bell, Apple has been in contact with Kremlin officials and warned the company might "revis[e] its business model in Russia."</p><p>This reportedly rankled Russian officials, who pointed to China as an example where US tech giants such as Apple abide by local laws and restrictions. But Russia's leverage over Apple is much smaller than China's, given its relatively small market size. Other major tech firms have struggled to gain traction in Russia, with homegrown companies such as Mail.Ru and Yandex dominating email, social, and search.</p><p>Apple has not released any official statement on the law, and did not respond to Business Insider when asked for comment. It is foreseeable that the tech giant could withdraw from Russia altogether rather than set the precedent of allowing a country's government to insert third-party apps into iPhones. </p><p>The apps also throw up an ethical dilemma, as Russian digital rights activists have voiced the concern that the government-chosen apps could be used to surveil people.</p><p>Apple has yielded to political pressure from Russia before. In November last year <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50573069">it altered Apple Maps and its Weather app for Russian users</a> to show Crimea - which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - as part of Russia. The annexation is opposed by the United Nations, which deemed it invalid. Subsequently <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-crimea/apple-taking-a-deeper-look-at-map-policies-after-calling-crimea-part-of-russia-idUKKBN1Y32GP">Apple said</a> it was "taking a deeper look at how we handle disputed borders in our services."</p><p>The last two months of 2019 have set the stage for 2020, and Apple may find itself increasingly at the center of geopolitical tensions between America and its rivals - much as Huawei has become a lens for the US-China trade war. </p><p><em>Do you work at Apple? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at <a href="mailto:ihamilton@businessinsider.com">ihamilton@businessinsider.com</a> or <a href="mailto:iahamilton@protonmail.com">iahamilton@protonmail.com</a>. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.</em></p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bi-intelligence-daily?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=apple&amp;itm_campaign=bi-intelligence-daily"></a></p>

Apple will need to reckon with Russia in 2020, thanks to a new law forcing pre-installation of Kremlin-approved apps

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Apple shows Russian Maps users that Crimea is part of Russia.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.</p><ol><li><strong><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50573069">Apple has altered its Maps and Weather apps to show Crimea as part of Russia, and not Ukraine, for Russian users</a>.</strong> Russia announced that it had been in talks with Apple for some months on 'correcting' the way Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, is displayed.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-apology-china-muslims-viral-video-feroza-aziz-suspend-politics-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">TikTok issued a public apology for suspending the account of the teen behind the viral Chinese takedown video disguised as makeup tutorial</a>.</strong> The firm reinstated one of her accounts, although they acknowledge that its moderation process "will not be perfect."</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-deactivated-accounts-inactive-plan-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Twitter backed off on a plan to give away unused old accounts after people complain that it would mean erasing their dead loved ones from the internet</a>.</strong> Twitter said it would hold off until it found a way to memorialize the accounts of those who have passed away. </li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/curve-fintech-startup-leaked-active-users-crowdfunding-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Leaked numbers show $200 million fintech startup Curve has far fewer active users than the number of 'customers' it has claimed</a>.</strong> During its September crowdfunding campaign, Curve said it would reach 4 million customers by the end of 2020 but didn't say how many people used its product on a regular basis.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-tech-companies-prop-up-chinas-vast-surveillance-network-11574786846">US firms have been profiting from Chinese efforts to surveil its population as part of its crackdown on Uighurs</a>.</strong> A Wall Street Journal investigation found that HP, Intel, and other companies provided financing or knowledge to Chinese tech companies which then supplied the government.</li><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-could-hit-france-with-tariffs-tech-digital-tax-fight-2019-11-1028722685">Trump could hit France with more tariffs in battle over taxes on big tech</a>.</strong> The Trump administration is scheduled to decide next week whether to retaliate against France for a new digital services tax that hits American technology giants like Amazon and Facebook. </li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-wish-ebay-faulty-electrical-products-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">An investigation found 'potentially deadly' products like exploding hairdryers sold on the 'Wild West' of Amazon, Wish, and eBay</a>.</strong> In the most extreme example, a hairdryer purchased on Wish's site set alight when non-profit Electrical Safety First tested what would happen if it restricted its airflow.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-reports-250000-pre-orders-for-tesla-cybertruck-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said there have been 250,000 pre-orders for Tesla's futuristic Cybertruck pickup truck in an ultra-brief tweet on Monday</a>.</strong> Early on Wednesday morning, Musk tweeted the word "250k", implying the new pre-order figure.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deep-mind-alphago-ai-lee-sedol-south-korea-go-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">A former world champion of the game Go says he's retiring because AI is so strong: 'Even if I become the No. 1, there is an entity that cannot be defeated.'</a></strong> Lee Se-dol, 36, told the Yonhap News Agency that he would no longer play professionally, because AI is impossible to overcome.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolt-uber-rival-banks-sustainability-license-loss-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">European Uber rival Bolt is hoping to step into the gap left by its competitor, which faces being thrown out of London after losing its operating license</a>.</strong> Bolt CEO Markus Villig says his $1 billion company takes a more collaborative and sustainable approach to ride-hailing.<br /> </li></ol><p>Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.</p><p>You can also <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/free">subscribe to this newsletter</a> here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/safest-walk-ice-penguin-2017-2">The safest way to walk on ice is to impersonate a penguin</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

10 things in tech you need to know today

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Hello! Here's what you need to know for Monday.</span></p><p><strong>1</strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</strong> The death toll from<strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </strong>Nepal's worst earthquake in 81 years, which struck on Saturday, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/world/asia/katmandu-nepal-fear-loss-and-devastation.html">has climbed above now 3,200</a>.</p><p><strong>2.</strong> A new video from Mount Everest shows <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-deadly-mount-everest-avalanche-looked-like-at-base-camp-2015-4#ixzz3YSEormQO">what a deadly avalanche triggered by Saturday's earthquake</a> looked like from base camp.</p><p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">3. </strong></strong></strong>Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast Sunday <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/afp-putin-says-no-regrets-over-crimea-annexation-2015-4">that he doesn't "r</a><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/afp-putin-says-no-regrets-over-crimea-annexation-2015-4">egret a thing" over his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine</a> last March, calling it an "element of historical justice."</p><p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">4</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> An </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/israeli-air-strike-kills-four-planting-bomb-at-syria-frontier-2015-4">Israeli air strike on the Syrian border killed four Islamic militants</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> who were planting an explosive.</span></p><p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">5.</strong></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed Sunday to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-german-chancellor-greek-pm-agree-to-stay-in-touch-to-reach-debt-deal-2015-4">maintain communication throughout Greece's negotiations with its creditors</a> as the country risks running out of cash within weeks.<br /></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">6. </strong></span>Polls predict <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-kazakhstan-president-nazarbayev-wins-fifth-term-by-a-landslide-2015-4">Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev won his fifth consecutive term by a landslide</a> Sunday with 97.5% of the vote, which will extend his 26-year rule.</p><p><strong>7. </strong>Chile's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-chile-volcano-quietens-but-remains-unstable-2015-4">Calbuco volcano remains unstable and could erupt again</a> after erupting twice in 24 hours last week.<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-21/china-picks-pakistan-dam-as-first-stop-on-40-billion-silk-road"><br /></a></p><p><strong>8. </strong>Ceremonies in Germany, Croatia, and France on Sunday <a href="the%20liberation%20of%20a%20concentration%20camp">remembered the liberation of three Nazi-run concentration camps</a> 70 years ago during WWII.</p><p><strong>9.</strong> Serbia signed a $3-billion (£1.9-billion) deal Sunday with an Abu Dhabi-based developer to <a href="r.com/afp-serbia-signs-controversial-3-bn-belgrade-development-deal-2015-4?IR=T">transform an area of Belgrade into an upscale housing and shopping complex</a>, a project that opponents have labelled a scam. </p><p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">10. </strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-q2-earnings-preview-2015-4">Apple reports earnings for the quarter that ended in March on Monday</a>, with analysts expecting major revenue growth driven by strong iPhone sales.<br><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><br /></span><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">And finally ...</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></br></p><p><span><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/nypd-thanks-swedish-cops-on-vacation-for-breaking-up-subway-fight-2015-4">The New York Police Department thanked four Swedish law enforcement officers for breaking up a fight on the subway while vacationing in New York City.</a></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-how-indo-european-languages-evolved-2014-12">This Animated Map Shows How European Languages Evolved </a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="wwMjI2cjq9yWkT5MO7-968mt2D9V_wxN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The 10 most important things in the world right now 

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Brendan McDermid</span></p><p class="caption">Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange February 4, 2014. </p></div><p></p></div>Dave Lutz of Stifel, Nicolaus passes along some of the stories traders are reading on this very busy weekend.</p>
<p>Here's a sampling.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Russian troops took over Crimea as the parliament in Moscow gave President Vladimir Putin a green light Saturday to use the military to protect Russian interests in Ukraine - Putin sought and quickly got his parliament's approval to use its military to protect Russia's interests across Ukraine - Ignoring President Barack Obama's warning Friday that "there will be costs" if Russia intervenes militarily, Putin sharply raised the stakes in the conflict over Ukraine's future evoking memories of Cold War brinkmanship. (<a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&amp;id=9449957">AP</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Gazprom has hinted that it may raise gas prices for Ukraine if the country fails to pay off its debts, in the clearest sign yet of Russia's willingness to use economic levers to put pressure on the new government in Kiev. (<a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/82931cee-a13a-11e3-b721-00144feab7de.html">FT</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">A Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to an eight-month low in February, adding to headwinds for growth as Premier Li Keqiang prepares to map out the government's economic strategy to the nation's legislature - The Purchasing Managers' Index was at 50.2, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing. That compared with January's 50.5 reading and the 50.1 median analyst estimate. (<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-01/china-manufacturing-index-declines-to-lowest-in-eight-months.html">Bloomberg</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">George Soros and John Paulson are taking major stakes in the flotation of a Spanish property group, reflecting an increasing confidence among investors in the eurozone periphery's economic recovery - The two hedge fund managers - who were ranked first and fourth in the world for their total earnings in 2013 - have both taken €92m stakes in Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, said people with knowledge of the deal (<a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b27ca91e-9fa7-11e3-b6c7-00144feab7de.html">FT</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Apple's television division, long dubbed a "hobby" by its executives, is now a billion-dollar business, Tim Cook told investors at an annual meeting on Friday. - In mid-2013, Mr Cook said the existing Apple TV box - which has sold for the same price since it was introduced in 2010 - had sold more than 13m units to date. Horace Dediu, technology commentator with Asymco, estimates that the company has sold a total of 28m TV boxes since 2007, generating cumulative hardware revenues of about $3.5bn. An implied growth rate of 80 per cent would make it Apple's fastest-growing device (<a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/0833942c-a0b0-11e3-a72c-00144feab7de.html">FT</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Speculators' net bearish bets on U.S. 10-year Treasury note futures fell for a second straight week (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/usa-bonds-cftc-idUSL1N0LX2BJ20140228">Reuters</a>)</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Hedge funds cut their net long position in arabica coffee this week by 16% to profit from the biggest monthly gain in 20 years and raised their bullish exposure to natural gas just before prices for the heating fuel fell (<a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/hedgefunds-commodities-cftc-idUKL1N0LX2HE20140228">Reuters</a>)</p>

Here's What Traders Are Reading On This Very Busy Weekend

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The surprising result of the US 2016 election awoke many Americans to a fact they'd rather not acknowledge: The US is under attack from foreign nations armed with weaponized information.</p><p>Indeed, the US's top spy agencies <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-reince-priebus-russia-dnc-hacks-2017-1" target="_blank">all credit Russia</a> with hacking the Democratic National Convention's email servers, and subsequently leaking information that helped to sway the election.</p><p>But from the Russian point of view, the US cast the first stone, and Russia's attempts to influence the US and other countries amounts to little more than an active <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword>. </p><p>According to Dr. Ken Geers of cybersecurity firm <a href="https://www.comodo.com/" target="_blank">Comodo</a>, Russia has long been a powerhouse of information warfare, and it's <span>"something we haven't gotten our heads around" in the West. </span></p><p><span>US spy agencies since World War II "</span><span>knew all about the Russia problem,</span><span>" Geers, who has worked with NATO and the NSA, told Business Insider. Russians are good at math, operational security, and have a long history of perceived threats to their regime, according to Geers. </span></p><p><span>"Even in the Tsarist period, Russia had a </span><span>robust secret police and counterintelligence apparatus, </span><span>so the Soviets in 1913 already had a lot to work with," said Geers. </span></p><p><span>Today, this 100-year-old history of information security and warfare translates into a laser like focus in the cyber arena. US cyber warriors focus on vulnerabilities, plugins and holes in networks that can be exploited. </span></p><p><span>But in Russia, cyber vulnerability is seen as merely a "means to an end," according to Geers.</span></p><p><span>In the space between cyber security, favored by the West, and information security, favored by the East, Russia and China have left the US behind. No matter how secure US networks become, there will always be some leakage, and Russia and China have proven incredibly capable with deploying information seized in leaks, and controlling the broader information climate. </span></p><p><span>Even objectively true facts can be massaged and misrepresented in Russia's state-run information space, as they were when Russian troops poured into Crimea in 2014.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Since the Russian and Chinese governments are </span><span>"more Orwellian than ours," Gears said, it gives them strict control over their media and the access their citizens have to the internet. This allows them to "massage the information space more," according to Geers.  </span></p><p><span>"It comes up in cyber diplomacy today in international discussions between the East and West," said Geers, where US cyber operators talk about securing networks and Eastern operators talk about securing information, and that often means censorship or even aggressive disinformation campaigns.</span></p><p><span>"If you look at 2016 election, Russia had real impact," said Geers. "It makes you reconsider that the Russians may have been much more correct about the topic over time ... it really is about information security. A flash browser plugin exploit is a means to an end. What you do with that can be small or large."</span></p><p><span>With its hacking of a major political party in the US, brutal air campaign that savagely slaughtered civilians in Syria by the tens of thousands, and annexation of a strategic peninsula in Europe under the nose of NATO, Russia has proven it has the correct conception of information warfare, and big plans in the battle space.</span></p><h2><span>How Russia sees itself as a victim of US informational warfare</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Russian lawmakers recently tried to ban the US film "Beauty and the Beast" from the country because it features a homosexual character. </span></p><p>Russian news outlet <a href="https://ria.ru/society/20170304/1489282691.html" target="_blank">Ria Novosti</a> reported that State Duma deputy Vitaly Milon wrote a letter to culture minister Vladimir Medinsky urging that action be taken as the movie is a "blatant, shameless propaganda of sin and perverted sexual relationships," according to <a href="https://time.com/4691642/beauty-and-the-beast-russia-ban/" target="_blank">Time</a>.</p><p>But the film "Beauty and the Beast" wasn't crafted by the US government as a piece of pro-LGBTQ propaganda.</p><p>It's just a Disney movie.</p><p>Geers said to look to France for examples of how the US's massive footprint in the information space makes waves that can irk even its closest allies.</p><p>"For years France has been quite annoyed with the US and also like other countries, fascinated," said Geers. "Think <span>about from a French perspective,</span>" McDonalds, Apple, Microsoft, Coca Cola, Google - all English words, all US companies, and all threaten France's cultural identity, according to Geers.</p><p>While McDonalds and Coca Cola promote themselves as good products and businesses, their purpose does not match a company like RT, a Russian state-run broadcasting agency purpose-built to counter Western media.</p><p>US brands promote capitalism and prosperity, which reflects well on the US. But the autocrats of Russia and China have long known their oppressive societies cannot survive direct comparison with the West, and so even McDonalds becomes a grave threat to regime preservation.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Even if the US started funding films and propaganda networks, free speech in the West means that this information would have to go toe-to-toe with more accurate, balanced, verifiable information in the media. Americans and Europeans can disagree with their governments and back whatever products, philosophies, or lifestyles they enjoy. </p><p>In this way, Russia's weaponized information has made a meal of the US's open, non-militarized information space, but Geers has a message for those who fear the sun is setting on the West: "Relax."</p><p>"You cannot equate the opinion of NATO to the opinion of the Kremlin," said Geers. "NATO is 28 functioning democracies. If you look at the map you see Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Albania - they all joined NATO. Why? Because it's the future. It's providing a secure space in which you can build culture and economy."</p><p>With just 145 million living in Russia, less than half the population of the US, Geers said the information war is "mathematical in nature." Countries on Russia's border who have seen the freedoms enjoyed by the West, like some current NATO states and Georgia, have all made "incredible efforts to prepare their country" for ascension into NATO, said Geers. </p><p>When a country wants to join NATO, "you start buying the right weapons and using the right uniforms and calling and enforcing democracy and civil rights," said Geers. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The slide towards the US's sphere of influence among some of Russia's neighbors has been nothing short of terrifying for Russia's autocrats, who don't hold power temporarily or democratically. Additionally, the US's second-to-none military and long streak of interventionism horrifies the Kremlin.</p><p><span>Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst based in Moscow, told <a href="https://news.vice.com/article/untitled-article-1460061782?preview&amp;cb=v1460061844208" target="_blank">Vice News in 2016</a> that Russia's paranoia grows each time the US removes a murderous dictator from power. </span></p><p><span><span>"They killed Saddam. They killed Qaddafi. Now they want to kill Assad," Felgenhauer said. "And Putin believes he may be next in line."</span></span></p><p><span><span>Perhaps the last straw for Putin's Russia was the 2014 Euromaidan protests in Kiev, Ukraine. NATO had been <a href="http://www.ndc.nato.int/download/downloads.php?icode=512" target="_blank">openly improving ties with Ukraine</a>, a buffer state that would put NATO on Russia's doorstep should Kiev join the alliance. </span></span></p><p><span><span>A recent <a href="http://www.ndc.nato.int/download/downloads.php?icode=512" target="_blank">NATO research paper</a> cites multiple Russian military officials and publications saying that the Kremlin saw many of the color revolutions and Arab Spring uprisings of the early 2010s as being engineered by the West to undermine stable governments. </span></span></p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p><span><span>With color revolutions sweeping MENA and Europe, the Kremlin's paranoia took a turn for the worse, and they assumed that Moscow must be next should they fail to act.</span></span></p><p><span><span>"From Moscow's perspective, you see the whole revolution move Eastwards towards you," said Geers. There were protests in Moscow against Russia's autocracy "but you don't see anything about that," due to Russia's command of media and information. Putin critic Boris Nemtsov was killed on the Kremlin's steps, part of a larger intimidation campaign by Russia, according to Geers. </span></span></p><p><span><span>Still, Russia's iron grip on information could be its undoing. Because Russia's internet has few points of access and few servers, a US cyber attack could cripple the whole country in moments. </span></span></p><p><span><span>The very nature of the internet is pro-Western. The information revolution brought about by an open internet has spread like wildfire across the world in a way that uniformly undermines dictators. So while Russia may be winning the information warfare right now through very active measures, it's an uphill battle, and time isn't on their side. </span></span></p><p>"Putin will also find, speaking even more broadly, the internet is on the side of the West. It looks more like democracy than it does autocracy. We have all kinds of vulnerabilities in the West - that's true, but it's also part of the point that tells me the West we can relax, and not overreact ... You can use those tools for surveillance, but ultimately they're going to come get you. The pitchforks will come for you," said Geers. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/aclu-police-law-brutality-reform-order-responsibility-2017-3">ACLU: These are the reforms that should be implemented in every police department</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="V0ajQ0YTE6NNiGzf-U53ELt2Vv66E7wa" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

How the US and Russia are fighting an information war - and why the US is losing

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Business Insider/Skye Gould</span></p><p class="caption">Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Donald Trump is again under fire for warm comments he directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, this time calling him a stronger leader than US President Barack Obama at a national security forum this week.</p><p>"If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him," the Republican nominee said. "I've already said he is very much of a leader. The man has very strong control over his country."</p><div data-bi-ad="" data-ad-container="" data-adunit="desktop/politics/politics/post" data-authors="maxwell-tani" data-pagetype="post" data-region="Desktop In Post Ad" data-responsive="[[[1240,0],[[728,90],[800,100],[550,300]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[600,100],[550,300]]]]" data-sizes="300x250,550x300,600x100,728x90,800x100" data-tag="hillary-clinton" data-url="/clinton-trumps-putin-better-leader-obama-2016-9" data-views="5001-10000" id="ad-6bdd57ea-e04c-4c85-8bc2-f95ff498ce15" data-google-query-id="CJulvP-SgM8CFdUGNwodx0oJkw"><p>"You can say, 'Oh, isn't that a terrible thing,' I mean, the man has very strong control over his country," the Manhattan billionaire added. "Now it's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly in that system he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader."</p><p>While Trump's fascination and appreciation of Putin is nothing new, the latest round of comments made during NBC's Commander-in-Chief Forum on Wednesday have seen an increased defense from some in the GOP.</p><p>Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said it's "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-pence-vladimir-putin-obama-2016-9" target="_blank">inarguable</a>" that Putin has been "a stronger leader" in Russia than Obama's been in the US. <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2016/09/08/steve-king-putin-leader-obama-russian-nationalism-increased/" target="_blank">Rep. Steve King of Iowa</a> said he thought Putin was stronger than Obama because he saw Russian nationalism increase "substantially" and that Russians "are proud of being Russians today."</p><p>Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt also joined the fray, <a href="https://twitter.com/hughhewitt/status/774208354038128640" target="_blank">insisting that although</a> Putin is "an evil man" and Obama is "good" but "incompetent," Putin's served the national interest of Russia better and "<a href="https://twitter.com/hughhewitt/status/774255777041088512" target="_blank">he's eating USA's lunch</a>."</p><p>Other prominent conservatives delivered strong statements disavowing any positive thought from the Republican Party toward Putin, a subject that has remained in the headlines as Trump refuses to say a negative word about the autocratic Russian leader.</p><p>House Speaker Paul Ryan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-ryan-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-2016-9" target="_blank">called Putin</a> an "aggressor that does not share our interests" and violates the "sovereignty of neighboring countries," while adding that it appears Putin's regime is involved in "cyberattacks on our political system," referencing the hacks on prominent Democratic organizations.</p><p>Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the "calculation from Trump unnerves me to my core," and although Putin has "<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article100741142.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">walked all over Obama</a>," Graham wouldn't agree that the Russian leader is better than the US president. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and once in the running to be Trump's running mate, expressed concern at the idea Trump welcomes compliments from Putin.</p><p>"You know, flattery can be used as a tool that sometimes bears very negative fruit," <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/08/graham-says-trumps-putin-comments-unnerves-me-to-my-core/" target="_blank">he said</a>. "One has to be careful about letting flattery affect one's relationship with a person or a country."</p><p>But Trump's apparent approval of Putin has gone a long way with rank-and-file GOP voters, who, <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/07/25/5-times-liberals-mocked-mitt-romney-for-warning-about-russia/" target="_blank">in 2012</a>, had a presidential nominee in Mitt Romney that called Russia "our number one geopolitical foe" after a hot-mic picked up Obama telling Russia's then-President Dmitry Medvedev that he'd have "more flexibility" to discuss missile defense after the election.</p></div><p><a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/3wuetbzs3b/econTabReport.pdf#page=13" target="_blank">According to a YouGov/Economist poll</a>, Putin's net-favorability rating in July 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-poll-favorability-trump-2016-9" target="_blank">was -54 among Democrats and -66 among Republicans</a>.</p><p>A poll from <a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/6oxnwsm36w/econTabReport.pdf#page=172" target="_blank">the same outlets released in August 2016</a> showed that Putin's net-favorability rating among Democrats remained identical. But the Russian leader's rating among Republicans improved dramatically, from -66 to -27.</p><p>"Of all the damage Trump can do to the American conservative movement, making it pro-Putin rather than pro-freedom could be the most serious," <a href="https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/774290890705793024">Weekly Standard editor and "Never Trump" conservative Bill Kristol</a> posted to Twitter.</p><h3 id="ad-6bdd57ea-e04c-4c85-8bc2-f95ff498ce15" data-adunit="desktop/politics/politics/post" data-authors="maxwell-tani" data-pagetype="post" data-region="Desktop In Post Ad" data-responsive="[[[1240,0],[[728,90],[800,100],[550,300]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[600,100],[550,300]]]]" data-sizes="300x250,550x300,600x100,728x90,800x100" data-tag="hillary-clinton" data-url="/clinton-trumps-putin-better-leader-obama-2016-9" data-views="5001-10000" data-google-query-id="CJulvP-SgM8CFdUGNwodx0oJkw"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Kevin Lamarque/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Putin with Barack Obama.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h3><h3>The comparison between Putin and Obama</h3><p>Trump's contention that Putin is stronger than Obama can be interpreted in two ways: One, Putin has projected more strength on the world stage than Obama, which many Republicans and foreign policy experts would likely agree with. The other, is that Putin has tight control over his country, something that most would be hesitant to praise, considering the differing systems of government and the means by which Putin has done so on the backs of his countrymen.</p><p>In terms of his consolidation of governmental power, Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, told Business Insider that he thinks Putin is the "singularly most powerful individual on the planet."</p><p>"I think that's true because he's consolidated so much more power, sort of de-legitimized the opposition," he said.</p><p>Putin's been able to bring Russia's judiciary system under his control, while governors are now under Kremlin control, he added.</p><p>"Now, there's no question that that's allowed Putin to project more force for Russia internationally," <span>Bremmer</span> said.</p><p>Bremmer argued that Putin has been able to improve Russia's political position in an "almost unimaginable" way since gaining power.</p><p>"There's no question that Russia has managed [to improve its international hand] by virtue of using its military might in Ukraine as well as in Syria and more broadly in the Middle East in ways that the Americans would not and that the Europeans would not," he said. "There's no question that Russia has shown itself as a more relevant actor and has gotten itself a larger seat at the table."</p><p>"They wouldn't have had a 90 minute meeting with Obama [at the G-20 summit]," he added. "Obama could say I'm not seeing [President Rodrigo] Duterte in the Philippines because of a mis-translation of an interview he gave to a journalist. Obama wouldn't be doing that to Putin right now."</p><p>But the country's military excursions in Crimea and Syria have been countered by a diminishing economy.</p><p><span>Bremmer said</span>:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"[L]et's be clear, Russia is in decline. NATO has expanded. The European Union has enlarged. And most importantly, while NATO and the EU have become a little weaker, China is becoming much stronger. And much stronger and much faster than Russia is."</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"China is investing overwhelmingly in all these countries around Russia, and they're developing much more influence than Russia has in Russia's own backyard. And this is going to be a very serious consequence, a very serious negative consequence to the Russians over the medium to long-term. No question when you look at the geopolitical map that Russia is one of these countries that over the long-term looks to be in terminal geopolitical decline, and Putin has facilitated that."</p><p>Although Putin's favorability ratings remain high, as Trump pointed out, it is not the best time to be a Russian living under Putin's government. In Trump's worldview, Bremmer said it's "completely accurate" to say Putin is stronger than Obama.</p><p>"But in a worldview, would you care more about how your citizens feel about the future for themselves and for their nation, that they have common values, that they act as a community, that they look out for each other, that the leader engenders values that in turn make them better citizens?" Bremmer asked. "Clearly, Obama has not been the best, but he's clearly been vastly better than Putin."</p><p>And in terms of being stronger on the domestic stage, it's impossible to argue that Obama is "stronger" than Putin because the Russian president does not have any of the constraints and checks and balances put forth by the American system of government.</p><p>"If he wants to lock someone up, it's a lot easier," Bremmer said of Putin. "If he wants to go into a neighboring country, he can do it. It's much harder for the Americans. If you want to make a statement that is most authoritarian leaders are stronger than most American presidents in terms of what they can do, you can say that. That is objectively fact."</p><p>"Putin would be unequivocally a stronger leader than Hillary [Clinton] or Trump would be, by that definition," he added.</p><p>Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist and president of the Potomac Strategy Group, agreed with Bremmer's sentiment, calling an Obama to Putin comparison on domestic <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> "apples to oranges."</p><p>"How do you define strong leadership?" he rhetorically asked in an interview with Business Insider. "Was Hitler a strong leader? What're we trying to say here?"</p><p>"You want to say that Putin exudes strength and with terrible tactics, rules with an iron fist in his country, and that compares very differently to Obama, who in many ways has been a weak president," he continued.</p><p>A result of Putin's displays of strength that Trump appeared to praise is that he's become more negatively viewed by not just the US, but by "all the western powers and by all the developed nations," Mackowiak argued.</p><p>The GOP strategist added that if Trump were elected and tried "1/20th" of what Putin's done in Russia, the Manhattan billionaire would "be impeached."</p><p>"And I have no doubt about that," he said. "I think it'd be a unifying moment for the country."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Evan Vucci</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>What the stance on Putin from Trump means for the GOP</h3><p>Trump's position on Putin and on Russia could not be further removed from the GOP's stance toward the nation in recent years.</p><p>But, with the Republican nominee now differing in his outlook toward Russia, the party is no longer virtually unified in opposition to Putin.</p><p>"What's really sad here is there was damn near unanimity among Republican Party elected officials and foreign policy community and national security community on the threat and opinion on Putin and what he's doing," Mackowiak said. "Not everyone maybe wants to give lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, not everyone wants to institute a no-fly zone in Syria. There has been damn near unanimity in the opinion on Putin."</p><p>He said that, with "Trump derangement syndrome" growing in the party, he estimates a full 25% of Republicans are now "twisting themselves into a pretzel" to defend Trump saying Putin is stronger in Russia than Obama is in the US. Referencing Pence's recent comments, Mackowiak said there was "no way in hell" the governor would've made his "inarguable" statement six months ago.</p><p>"Look, Obama deserves a hell of a lot of criticism, I think he's done a hell of a lot of damage," he said. "But not every criticism needs to be taken to the fullest extent. Some comparisons just aren't reasonable. There is no comparison between Putin and Obama. There just isn't."</p><p>Tom Nichols, a professor at the US Naval War College and senior contributor at The Federalist, expressed dismay with how his fellow conservatives are "mortgaging their principles in order to keep up with Trump's increasingly bizarre statements."</p><p>"I just have a hard time that these folks are doing anything but tying to compensate, they're trying to keep up with Trump which is almost impossible," he told Business Insider. "I think conservatives have always expected a lot more from other people including [former New York City mayor and top Trump surrogate Rudy] Giuliani and Hewitt. I think no one really expects a deep understanding of geopolitics from Trump."</p><p>He referenced the earlier poll, where Putin's negatives with Republicans were cut by a dramatic amount, as proof that the rank-and-file are taking their queues from the party's nominee.</p><p>The professor called Trump's comparison between Putin and Obama "completely outside the bounds of normal American political discourse."</p><p>"I mean that is just bizarre and it's the kind of, it's the kind of thing Trump says and he ends up saddling his supporters with a comment like that and they have to figure out how to make it less toxic," he said. "I'm a conservative, I've been highly critical of Obama's foreign policy for 8 years. Comparing the president of the United States to a Russian dictator is just something you don't do. It's un-American."</p><p>"And again, people like Hugh Hewitt know better," he continued. "It's bad enough when Trump says it but when Hugh Hewitt piles in behind him, Hewitt knows the difference between dictatorial control and democratic leadership. But like so many other people, he's boxed in by the nominee."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Evan Vucci</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>The most "interesting" part</h3><p>Trump's warmth toward Putin says a lot more than that the GOP nominee simply thinks Obama has been a weakling.</p><p>"What's more interesting is that this man is campaigning for the presidency of the United States, and that Putin, who is clearly a leader that wants America to be weaker, he has written in the New York Times that there is nothing exceptional about the United States," Bremmer said. "And Putin himself has praised Trump as a genius, a brilliant guy, but I think there's a reason why."</p><p>He added: "The fact that Trump believes that it's a good thing to be sort of closer to Putin than just about any other world leader should raise some significant questions and concerns about what kind of president he would be if elected."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/latinos-for-donald-trump-founder-taco-trucks-marco-gutierrez-2016-9">'Taco Trucks on every corner': Watch the stunning comments made by the leader of 'Latinos for Trump'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="E3eTJvNTE6ujjHE1ZtqQRwMnQhZQbcYq" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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