THE APPEAL UPHELD LEGALITY OF 2 BILLION RUB FINE AGAINST GOOGLE

The company must pay it for abuse of a dominant position

In February 2022, FAS Russia completed consideration of the antimonopoly case against Google LLC. The authority found that the rules related to the formation, suspension, blocking of accounts and the circulation of user content on YouTube are nontransparent, nonobjective and unpredictable.

It leads to sudden blocking and deletion of user accounts without warning and justification of actions. FAS Russia has established that such behavior infringes the interests of users, as well as restricts competition in adjacent markets.

After a comprehensive study of the circumstances of the case, the Commission of FAS Russia found the company guilty of abusing its dominant position in the YouTube video hosting services market.

As a result of the conducted administrative investigation, FAS Russia imposed a turnover fine of more than 2 billion rubles (34,886,073 US dollars) on Google LLC for violation of antimonopoly legislation*.

The company tried to appeal the ruling and the remedies of the authority, as well as the decision on the imposition of a fine, but the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal sided with FAS Russia. Earlier, the decision of the antimonopoly service was also supported by the court of first instance.

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* The penalty for violation is provided for by Part 2 of Article 14.31 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation