Apple has brought legal action against Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) in an effort to challenge the request to “stop abuse in the market” submitted by that body earlier this year,” according to a RT report.
The article says Apple is seeking a judicial review of a warning, which is forcing the iPhone maker to allow app developers to tell customers about alternative payment options when using its App Store platform.
The warning, delivered by the government body in August, gave Apple a September 30 deadline to resolve the issue. Back then, the regulator warned that the tech giant could face a fine that would be calculated based on its revenue in Russia. In October, the country’s anti-trust watchdog launched proceedings against the company for non-compliance with the request.
Apple has also faced a battle with the FAS over App Store pricing. In September 2020. Fedot Tumusov, a member of the Russian State Duma, proposed a law that would force Apple to cut app store commission fees down from 30% to 20%. The law would require that a third of the app store commission be paid to the Russian government as part of a fund to train IT specialists.
In response, Luca Bertoletti, senior European affairs manager at the Consumer Choice Center (a “global grassroots movement for consumer choice”), said the Russian government’s policy would be a significant step back towards the socialist economy that would discourage competition, and, in the end, drive Apple out of Russia thereby hurting Russian consumers.
