Apple was severely punished, the truth was revealed

In a press release, FAS indicated that the Cupertino-based company was found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the distribution of mobile apps in iOS through a series of decisions that resulted in a competitive advantage. compete for their own products, while at the same time worsening the conditions for promoting products from other competitors.

Apple fined $12.1 million

The fine stems from an August 2020 ruling that said Apple abused its dominant position on the App Store and restricted competition, banning the parental control app in 2019.

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab has filed an antitrust complaint with the FAS after Apple removed the Safe Kids App Store child-control app. At the time, Apple also released its own competing feature called Screen Time as part of iOS 12.

In the end, a Russian court ruled that Kaspersky won the case and ordered Apple to pay more than $ 12 million in damages for antitrust violations. In addition, Apple will be forced to change its own terms and conditions regarding an action that would allow the company to “reject third-party apps from the App Store for any reason, even if they fulfill all requirements”. The court also asked Apple to ensure that “internal applications do not take precedence over third-party applications”.

Russian officials have recognized Apple’s policy in the App Store as discriminatory

Obviously, Apple has warded off competition and created a privileged environment for in-house apps, and perhaps the company fears that third-party apps will be better than in-house apps and easier to replace. ; at the same time this will damage the image of the company.

Apple is appealing and told the RIA Novosti news agency that the company “respects Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS), but disagrees with the ruling” and asserts that Kapersky’s app uses public technology. technology that is highly intrusive to “user privacy and security”.

In fact, Russia often does a strong hand with Western technology “giants” such as Apple, Google and Facebook. In recent years, Russia has tightened its control of the internet on the pretext of fighting extremism and protecting minors. In 2019, Russia passed a law to develop a “sovereign internet” aimed at isolating the country’s internet from those around the world. The move was condemned by activists, who said it would prevent free speech.

In addition, Russia is also investigating the video sharing platform YouTube (a subsidiary of Google) for suspected abuse of its dominant position in the market to make decisions that are “non-transparent, biased and unpredictable. “

According to an announcement by the Russian Federal Antitrust Authority, YouTube has relied on the platform’s rules to delete and block user accounts without warning or allowing explanation. Such actions may lead to infringing on the rights of users and limit fair and transparent competition.