APPEAL UPHELD 906 MILLION RUB FINE IMPOSED BY FAS AGAINST APPLE
The company tried to challenge the fine for abuse of a dominant position
It should be reminded that in August 2020, FAS Russia completed consideration of the antimonopoly case against the company initiated as a result of consideration of the application of Kaspersky Lab JSC.
On April 26, 2021 FAS Russia imposed a turnover fine of 906 million rubles on Apple Inc. for violating antimonopoly legislation*.
The Authority found that Apple abused its dominant position in the market of distribution of mobile applications by other developers on the iOS operating system by barriers that led to the provision of competitive advantages to its own products, simultaneously launching a similar "parental control" service.
FAS Russia also found that the provisions of Apple’s documentation contain consistent limitations on the capabilities of third-party developers, which may lead to limited competition in adjacent markets.
FAS Russia issued remedies to the company to eliminate the violation, according to which the organization must remove from the documentation the provisions that prevent applications from other developers from the App Store for any reason, even if they meet all the requirements, and also ensure that developers of parental control applications can distribute them in the App Store without losing important functions.
The company tried to appeal the decision and remedies of FAS Russia, as well as the decision to impose a fine, but the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal sided with FAS Russia and fully refused to satisfy the applicant’s claims. Earlier, the decision of the antimonopoly service was also supported by the court of first instance.
For reference:
* According to Part 2 of Article 14.31 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation