VK Sues the Council of the European Union to Overturn Sanctions
Cut off from the App Store and Google Play, Russian tech conglomerate VK has lodged a formal challenge with the EU General Court, calling Brussels' sanctions unlawful.
Russian internet holding VK has filed a lawsuit against the Council of the European Union in an attempt to overturn sanctions imposed against it earlier this year. The action was registered at the EU General Court on October 7 under case number T-664/26.
VK representatives confirmed the filing to Russian media, arguing that the Council's decision is unfounded and legally invalid. The legal move follows months of escalating distribution problems for the company's software.
Trouble began in early June when Apple removed VK's messaging app Max from the App Store, cutting off push notifications for existing installations before purging the rest of VK's ecosystem. At the time, Apple stated it was complying with regional sanctions regulations, while VK called the purge "unmotivated and unacceptable," noting it had not yet been formally placed on the EU sanctions registry.
The regulatory justification caught up in July, when the European Union enacted formal sanctions targeting both VK and Communication Platform LLC, the legal entity behind Max. Shortly after, Google Play removed VK's catalog as well.
Unlike iOS users, Android owners retain working push notifications and can still download the apps through alternative storefronts, including RuStore, Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, and Xiaomi GetApps. However, without access to the primary Western application stores, VK remains firmly quarantined on iOS unless European judges rule in its favor.
Source: habr
Filing record: Curia (T-664/26)
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