Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has levied a $12 million fine against Apple for alleged abuse of its dominance in the mobile applications market, reports Reuters.
According to the FAS, Apple's distribution of apps through iOS gives its products a competitive advantage. Apple has been charged 906.3 million roubles, equivalent to $12.1 million.
The fine stems from an August ruling that said Apple abused its dominant App Store position and limited competition in the iOS app market when it began banning parental control apps back in 2019 for using configuration profiles.
Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab filed an antitrust complaint with the FAS after Apple removed the Kaspersky Safe Kids app from the App Store. At the time, the app had been available for three years before it was pulled.
"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 a ruling that ordered Apple to address the regulatory violations by removing rules that allow it to reject third-party apps.
Apple has said that it "respectfully" disagrees with the FAS's decision and plans to appeal it.
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