Apple has paid a fine of 906 million rubles ($12.12 million) in a Russian antitrust case for abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service – FAS – said, Russian news agencies cited by Reuters reported.
Apple did not immediately issue a statement on the developments, but previously “respectfully disagreed” with the FAS ruling that Apple’s distribution of apps through the iOS operating system gave a competitive advantage to its own products.
In August 2020, the FAS found that the company had abused its dominant position, after which it issued a directive requiring Apple to remove provisions giving it the right to reject third-party apps from its App Store.
The move followed a complaint from cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, which said a new version of its Safe Kids app had been rejected by Apple’s operating system.
Apple appealed the decision at various stages but failed and eventually paid the fine, the FAS said.
Another case points to another fine for the tech giant, but in January, when the FAS announced it had fined Apple about $17.4 million for allegedly forcing Russian developers to use Apple’s payment services in the iOS app store.
A year ago, Apple halted sales of all products in Russia after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine, and restricted its Apple Pay service in Russia.