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Russia's Anti-Monopoly Watchdog Says Apple Abused Dominant App Store Position

Monday August 10, 2020 12:10 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple is facing App Store scrutiny in Russia as the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) today said (via Interfax) that Apple abused its dominant ‌App Store‌ position and limited competition in the iOS app market by banning parental control apps.

The FAS began investigating Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies back in August 2019 after Apple cracked down on parental control apps using Mobile Device Management functionality.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab lodged an antitrust complaint with the FAS after Apple pulled the Kaspersky Safe Kids app from the ‌App Store‌. Kaspersky Safe Kids had, at the time, been in the ‌App Store‌ for three years before Apple said that it was no longer allowed to use configuration profiles.

According to the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, since 2018, Apple has limited "instruments and opportunities for the development of parental control apps," leading to the loss of functionality in third-party apps.

The FAS also pointed out that the removal of the parental control apps coincided with the launch of the Screen Time feature, and that Apple is able to block any third-party app even if the app meets Apple's specifications.

"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.

The FAS plans to order Apple to address the regulatory violations. In response, Apple said that it respects the FAS but disagrees with the decision and will appeal the ruling.

Apple is also facing an antitrust investigation in the United States, with Apple CEO Tim Cook recently testifying in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, where he was grilled on Apple's App Store policies.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: App Store, antitrust

Top Rated Comments

Trik

16 weeks ago

Someone should evaluate Putin's monopoly on being the President of Russia...

Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)

PieTunes

“Russia” and “anti monopoly” in the same sentence? That’s rich.

Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)

whyamihere

Apple occupies a dominant position with a 100% share of the market for mobile apps based on the iOS operating system

Yep, and Walmart has a 100% share of the market for items sold in Walmart. Let's get 'em!

Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Theyayarealivin

Apple is in so much trouble!!!

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Art Mark

Yeah... Russia would seem to know all about monopolies. Since their entire judicial system is a farce and one party/one man rule is the name of the game there. Consumers who buy at Walmart also have to buy what Walmart offers. Is that the same kind of monopoly? There's this giant selling phone platform (largest in the world I hear) called Android and you, like most people in the world, can buy from there just as a Walmart shopper can shop at Food Co. if you are unhappy with what Walmart offers.