Last July, we commented that the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Federal Antimonopoly Serviceor FAS) was considering fining Apple for “abusing its dominant position” in the iOS app market with the rules of App Store. At the time, we also said that the agency would stipulate the amount of this fine during an investigation.
Well, according to information from the Archyde.com, the FAS finally decided on the amount and imposed its penalty. More specifically, Apple will have up to two months to pay the agency no less than US$17.4 million for preventing Russian developers from using alternative payment methods or adding messages in their apps regarding the possibility of paying for purchases outside their store.
The body, it is worth remembering, has been investigating Apple since October 2021, following the company ignored several alerts in a row regarding App Store guidelines. Just under a year later, the Cupertino giant was fined 2 million rubles (regarding BRL 183,000 at the time) for not storing Russian iCloud users’ data in the country.
More recently, the App Store has once more given Apple a headache in France, where it is also being investigated for its alleged “abusive practices”. In this case, the French government accused the store of imposing clauses considered unfair to developers and fined Apple more than 1€ million.
Apple, it is worth remembering, has already signaled a possible opening of the App Store in the near future, although it is not yet clear whether or not this will include alternative payment methods.
So let’s wait…
