Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has hit Apple with a $12 million fine for the company’s allegedly abusing its dominance in the mobile applications industry.
Reuters reports that The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said on Tuesday that U.S. tech giant Apple’s distribution of apps through its iOS operating system gave its own products a competitive advantage. Apple has been charged 906.3 million roubles, equivalent to $12.1 million.
FAS 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.
Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab filed an antitrust complaint with the FAS after Apple removed the Kaspersky Safe Kids app from the App Store.
“Apple occupies a dominant position with a 100% share of the market for mobile apps based on the iOS operating system because it is only legally possible to install such apps from the App Store,” said the FAS in its ruling.
Apple of course says that it disagrees with the FAS’s decision and plans to appeal it.
