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Antitrust regulator fines Apple $17.4 mln for abuse of dominant position

It is reported that the App Store prohibited iOS application developers from informing customers inside the application about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the store, as well as from using alternative modes of payment

MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) fined Apple more than 1.2 billion rubles (($17.4 mln) for imposing the company's payment instrument on Russian developers when creating applications on iOS, according to the regulator’s Telegram channel.

"In July 2022, the service found the company guilty of violating antitrust laws. Apple forced Russian developers of iOS applications to use the company's payment instrument in their applications. <...> As the result of an administrative investigation, the FAS Russia fined Apple in the amount of 1,177,988.7 rubles (more than $17 million) for violating antitrust laws," according to the statement.

In particular, the App Store prohibited iOS application developers from informing customers inside the application about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the store, as well as from using alternative modes of payment, the FAS explained.

In this regard, in July 2022, the regulator found the company guilty of violating antitrust laws. Apple must pay the fine within two months from the date the document came into effect.

Earlier, the FAS issued a similar warning to Google. However, in August 2022, the company made changes to the rules of the Google Play Developer Program and removed the ban on the use of third-party payment systems.

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