EU sanctions Russian VKontakte and surveillance firms over human‑rights abuses

On 13 July the European Union’s Council expanded its sanctions regime against Russia, adding individuals and entities accused of cybercrime and serious human‑rights violations. The package targets VK Company (VKontakte) and its subsidiary Communication Platform for developing and managing the Max App, a messaging and social‑media application pre‑installed on all Russian smartphones and used to monitor and repress critics of the war in Ukraine.

The EU also sanctioned three firms – Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi‑Trans – that produce hardware and software for the SORM surveillance system, which intercepts calls, emails, texts and social‑network activity. Additional measures include asset freezes, travel bans and a prohibition on EU persons and companies providing funds to the listed parties. The new designations bring the total under the EU’s cyber‑security and human‑rights sanctions regime to 98 individuals and seven entities since its launch in March 2024.