Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) on Monday announced it had opened an antitrust case against Apple, accusing the company of failing to comply with requirements to allow the pre-installation of a Russian social media platform and domestic app store on iOS devices.
In a statement published on Telegram, the FAS said Apple had failed to fully comply with an earlier warning to remove what it described as discriminatory conditions affecting Russian search engines and software developers.
“In accordance with the Law on Protection of Competition and previous law enforcement practice regarding Apple, which has been confirmed by the courts, the FAS has opened a case against the company,” the agency said.
The regulator added that Apple could face a financial penalty under Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses if it is found to have violated competition laws.
The FAS noted that Apple had announced that, from July 27, an updated version of its software would allow users to pre-install a Russian search engine, but said the company had not fully complied with its broader requirements regarding the pre-installation of domestic digital services.