Russia bans the JWLibrary app

[shali]

Is it necessary to talk about anything then?  I was just putting it out there to ENCOURAGE the brothers and sisters here, that our brothers in Russia will not be without the app even though it was banned.

[Old]

2 Co 11:5

[Thesauron]

Is it necessary to talk about anything then?  I was just putting it out there to ENCOURAGE the brothers and sisters here, that our brothers in Russia will not be without the app even though it was banned.

They will not be without spiritual food.

[shali]

3 minutes ago, Thesauron said:

They will not be without spiritual food.

I think that is what i just said - the point i was making about using the app offline and just now when I said they will be able to use the app without the authorities knowing. Not sure why you think I am saying otherwise. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by shali

[Thesauron]

I think that is what i just said - the point i was making about using the app offline and just now when I said they will be able to use the app without the authorities knowing. Not sure why you think I am saying otherwise. 

If the app is banned, they can use other means.

[shali]

I guess I assumed that was a "given".  There are always ways of getting spiritual food into a country that bans it - it was proven time and again during WWI and WWII, especially in the country of Russia. I wasn't by any means saying that the Jw Lib app was their only means of having spiritual food, I was merely stating  that even though it was banned, the food in the app will always be there.

[Thesauron]

I guess I assumed that was a "given".  There are always ways of getting spiritual food into a country that bans it - it was proven time and again during WWI and WWII, especially in the country of Russia. I wasn't by any means saying that the Jw Lib app was their only means of having spiritual food, I was merely stating  that even though it was banned, the food in the app will always be there.

A friend of mine from a European branch had the privilege some time ago to visit a country where the work is banned. They went as tourists. Upon returning, they had regular tourist photos, and could tell friends here about what they experienced as tourists, but only very few knew what they really did. And they spoke nothing about the arrangements the brothers had in that country, nor did they talk about how spiritual food reaches them.

[Paulo]

We of course should not openly discuss specific details about such issues.

 

But I see benefits in telling our brothers to search and learn how to use a VPN and how to do a quick factory reset to their mobiles

[Dages]

Well, Isaiah 57:14 is always true. There are ways to get access to the spiritual food.

[Eejay]

20 hours ago, J500 said:

When these stores remove the app from their listing, the store software in all our phones will remote uninstall.

You do not need an app store to download and install JW library. For example:

https://www.jw.org/en/online-help/jw-library/android/manually-install-jw-library-android/

 

Government pressure on isp s however can interfere with access to www.jw.org. But there are ways around everything as stated by many here. Anyway, internet access is not the key to spiritual survival. Thinking that blocking access to some 21st Century gimmick, useful though it undoubtedly is, is typical of those who are governed by the flesh (Compare 1Cor.2:14-16). Isaiah 54:17.

[jwhess]

I am not sure they really want to stop us from downloading the app.  If we get it, they stop us, look at our phone and we go to jail.  They probably WANT us to download an illegal app and carry it around with us.  Makes their job easier.

[Eejay]

8 hours ago, jwhess said:

Makes their job easier.

Absolutely!      Ps.94:20 "...framing trouble in the name of the law"

[Loopy]

This news report is no longer on JW.org 😳

 

Its GONE 🤷‍♀️

[Thesauron]

This news report is no longer on JW.org
 
Its GONE

That’s the nature of these news flashes.

[carlos]

On the other hand, Christians obey the law. When Russia banned the New World Translation, our Russian brothers stopped using it. If the JW Library app is now banned, I guess they will be encouraged to stop using it too to comply with the law.

 

If the Caesar says to stop reading the Bible or receiving spiritual food, we obey God rather than men. But if one particular item is banned, as long as we have another means to receive spiritual food we try to obey the law.

[Tortuga]

There is more information on the jw-russia site.

 

https://jw-russia.org/news/2021/04/1.html

[Donna]

Before JWL app publications could be downloaded in epub and pdf formats and read in a book reader app.

 

[.Ivan.]

before the jw library was available for android devices, i had a tablet and used the pdf editions and the moon reader app.

[campanula]

The app works fine as for now. No need of vpn so far.

 

[Paulo]

3 hours ago, campanula said:

The app works fine as for now. No need of vpn so far.

 

The vpn would be useful to avoid tracking by the ips, thus getting of the radar.

[campanula]

1 hour ago, Paulo said:

The vpn would be useful to avoid tracking by the ips, thus getting of the radar.

Yes, you are right. I use it sometimes.

But THEY have a list with our names, addresses and  phone numbers anyway. It is just a matter of time and a fre willl of theirs.

[On the huh]

To make full use of our new bible study tool, Enjoy Life Forever, you need the app.  You can the PDF and download the videos, but not as simple as using the app.

Is it coincidence that the app was banned around the same time?  I think not.

[Paulo]

5 hours ago, campanula said:

Yes, you are right. I use it sometimes.

But THEY have a list with our names, addresses and  phone numbers anyway. It is just a matter of time and a fre willl of theirs.

Yes, I understand that. But having your contacts and having proof of your access to a banned app are two different things.

[Sofia]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:23 AM, J500 said:

So most likely it would be the App Store (iPhone's / iPads) controlled by Apple and the Play Store controlled by Google (Android phones) who will remove the apps by request of the government. When these stores remove the app from their listing, the store software in all our phones will remote uninstall.

 

Here is an example:

https://www.pagalparrot.com/chinese-government-removed-4500-gaming-apps-from-app-store/

 

of course as someone mentioned there are ways around this.

that´s exactly what happened. 

[Sofia]

Old News:

https://www2.stetson.edu/religious-news/201027a.html

St. Petersburg authorities try to halt Jehovah's Witnesses' internet activity

PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE REQUESTS FINDING MOBILE PHONE APP OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TO BE EXTREMIST

by Mikhail Telekhov

RAPSI, 27 October 2020

 

A court will consider on 14 December a lawsuit of the prosecutor's office of St. Petersburg against Roskomnadzor to find to be extremist a mobile phone application, "JW Library," which was created by the Jehovah's Witnesses and distributed through the application stores Google Play and App Store, RAPSI was told at the Joint Press Service of courts of St. Petersburg.

 

An administrative suit to find information that is being disseminated through the application "JW Library" to be extremist and banned from distribution within Russia will be considered by the October district court of St. Petersburg.

 

As shown in the text of the complaint, the copyright to the application belongs to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is the higher-placed governing body of the religious organization of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia; its activity and that of the local religious organizations that were elements of its structure were ruled to be extremist.

 

"The website of the developer of this application, to wit, the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses, according to the determination of the Russian Supreme Court, contained informational material whose printed editions have been ruled to be extremist. Access to them has been blocked. The plaintiff points out that now mass distribution of extremist religious materials is being continued on the territory of the R.F. through the "JW Library." The first session on the merits will be held on 14 December," the Joint Press Service explained. (tr. by PDS, posted 27 October 2020)

 

 

 

ST. PETERSBURG PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE REQUESTS REMOVAL OF CELL PHONE APP WITH BIBLE FROM APPLE AND GOOGLE STORES

Fontanka, 27 October 2020

 

The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office is taking aim at one of the most popular religious applications in App Store and Google Play, the "JW Library."  It was created by the Jehovah's Witnesses, who are forbidden in Russia. The idea to liquidate the application was revealed on 27 October by the Joint Press Service of the courts of St. Petersburg.

 

"The administrative lawsuit to find the JW Library to be extremist and banned in Russia was accepted for proceeding by the October district court," the press service explains.

 

The lawsuit shows that among the enormous mass of information in the JW Library, the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office found only 21 informational items that Russian courts have ruled to be extremist. But it requests the removal of the whole application from the App Store and Google Play stores.

 

The office is operating by analogy. In 2014, the Supreme Court found the whole website of Jehovah's Witnesses, "jw.org," to be extremist. In its opinion, the placement of other information that does not contradict the law does not prevent "killing" the entire internet resource. The mass distribution of extremist religious materials is continuing in Russia through the JW Library, the prosecutor's office believes. Apple and Google are authorized to restrict access to the application in a specific geographic location in the world.

 

The copyright to the application belongs to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The developer of the JW Library is the Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

"The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania" is the world center of Jehovah's Witnesses. This international religious organization encompases more than 8.5 million preachers throughout the world.

 

Formally, the Watch Tower Society is not forbidden in Russia. In 2017, the Supreme Court found the organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" and its local cells to be extremist. The Watch Tower Society is an international superstructure.

 

The JW Library is the official application of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It contains various translations of the Bible and books and brochures for studying it. The application came out in July 2013. On Google Play, more than 10 million users have accessed it. In the App Store, it occupies 26th place in the category of "Reference." In both stores, the application is rated by millions of users at 4.8.

 

The hearing on the lawsuit will be held on 14 December. The Apple and Google corporations will be involved as third persons through their Russian representations: "EPPLRus" and "Gugl." (tr. by PDS, posted 27 October 2020)