Russia’s competition regulator fined Apple RUB906 million ($12.1 million) for alleged abuse of its dominance in the mobile applications market, in the latest dispute between Moscow and a Western technology firm.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said Tuesday that Apple was gaining an unfair advantage over other companies through its app store.
Western tech companies have come under increasing pressure in Russia in recent months, with social network Twitter punitively slowed down over a failure to delete content which Moscow says is illegal.
About Issues
The Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has determined in August 2020 that Apple had abused its dominant position and then issued a directive requiring the U.S. company to remove provisions giving it the right to reject third-party apps from its App Store.
Apple’s court challenge also covers a FAS requirement for it to ensure in-house apps are not prioritised over third-party alternatives, along with a stipulation it allows developers to distribute their services through the App Store without restricting specific functions.
Apple Responded
“Respectfully disagreed” with the FAS decision, which it plans to appeal.
“We worked with Kaspersky to get their app in compliance with rules that were put in place to protect children.
They now have 13 apps on the App Store and we have processed hundreds of updates for them.”
Similar Events in Past
Apple faces several similar probes into its practices from authorities in Europe, South Korea and the UK, while it is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Epic Games in its home market.
In 2020, the French Competition Authority imposed a fine of €1.1 billion on Apple over breaches, stating it was the highest ever penalty it had issued.
Comment from Russia
Anton Gorelkin, a member of Russia’s State Duma committee on information and communications, said the fine would not destroy Apple, but would be noticeable on financial statements.
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