Apple Fined $12 Million in Russia for Violating Anti-Monopoly Rules With App Store

Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has levied a $12 million fine against Apple for alleged abuse of its dominance in the mobile applications market, reports Reuters.

app store blue banner russia
According to the FAS, Apple's distribution of apps through iOS gives its products a competitive advantage. Apple has been charged 906.3 million roubles, equivalent to $12.1 million.

The fine stems from an August ruling that said Apple abused its dominant App Store position and limited competition in the iOS app market when it began banning parental control apps back in 2019 for using configuration profiles.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab filed an antitrust complaint with the FAS after Apple removed the Kaspersky Safe Kids app from the ‌App Store‌. At the time, the app had been available for three years before it was pulled.

"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 in a ruling that ordered Apple to address the regulatory violations by removing rules that allow it to reject third-party apps.

Apple has said that it "respectfully" disagrees with the FAS's decision and plans to appeal it.

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.

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Event on March 4: Here's What to Expect

Tuesday February 17, 2026 8:08 am PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Rumor: Apple to Announce Multiple New Products in First Week of March

Tuesday February 17, 2026 6:35 pm PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. And now, rumors are surfacing about Apple's broader plans for that week. Daring Fireball's John Gruber today guessed that Apple will announce new products on a day-by-day basis from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4:What strikes...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

Monday February 16, 2026 4:24 am PST by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models "won't be a big update," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the iPhone 18 Pro models will "represent minor tweaks from last year's iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max." He compared the upgrade to Apple's past practice of appending the letter "S" to its more minor...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...

Top Rated Comments

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

Cool, let me try this.

"Sony occupies a dominant position with a 100% share of the market for console apps based on the Playstation operating system"

"Nintendo occupies a dominant position with a 100% share of the market for console apps based on the Nintendo operating system"

"Microsoft occupies a dominant position with a 100% share of the market for console apps based on the Xbox operating system"

"Youtube occupies a dominant position with 100% share of the market for videos based on the Youtube platform"

"Google occupies a dominant position with 100% share of internet search based on the Google platform"

"Alexa occupies a dominant position with 100% share of smart home skills based on the Alexa platform"

"Twitch occupies a dominant position with 100% share of live streams based on the Twitch platform"
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
63 months ago
Apple should fine Russia for having a monopolistic authoritarian government.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McKodiak Avatar
63 months ago
Are iPhones the only mobile phones allowed in Russia? Do their prisoners (citizens) not have a choice in mobile tech?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Toratek Avatar
63 months ago
You do realize a 12 million dollar fine to a trillion dollar company is equivalent to a fine of $1.20 to someone making 100K/year? 0.0012%.

”Hey Apple, pay us for a chocolate bar, our Oligarch is hungry”

As of this morning, APPL’s market cap is 2.26 TRILLION. With a T.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rpmurray Avatar
63 months ago
Since when has the Russian government cared what happens to the serfs? Maybe they just want a cut for the oligarchs.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
63 months ago

Apple should fine Russia for having a monopolistic authoritarian government.
Why? Apple seems to be fine with the Chinese.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)