FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance of the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, USA, October 16, 2019. REUTERS / Mike Segar / File Photo
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian league watchdog FAS on Monday said that Apple Inc. had abused its dominant position in the mobile apps market through its iOS App Store and would issue an order demanding that the company break regulations resolves.
An Apple spokesman said the company plans to appeal against the FAS ruling.
The Russian ruling comes in the wake of European Commission investigations into Apple and the App Store’s rules, including requiring app developers to use their own in-app purchasing system.
The FAS mentioned the need to download apps for Apple’s Apple operating system through its App Store. It also said that Apple has unlawfully reserved rights to block third-party apps from the App Store.
The investigation by the FAS followed a complaint from cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, which had said that a new version of its Safe Kids application had been rejected by Apple’s operating system.
It said it had released version 12 of its own parental control app, Screen Time, which had similar features to the Kaspersky app. Parental control apps allow parents to monitor their children’s phone and tablet usage.
Apple has said it has removed several parental control apps from its App Store because they “endanger” privacy and security of users.
Report by Vladimir Soldatkin and Nadezhda Tsydenova; Edited by David Goodman
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