Russia's antitrust agency announced on Wednesday that it has filed an antitrust case against Apple for refusing to enable developers to provide users alternative payment options outside of the App Store platform.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) ruled in August 2020 that Apple's App Store offers it an unfair competitive advantage in the digital app sector. As a result, the court penalized Apple $12 million.
A complaint by Kaspersky Lab in 2019 led to the antitrust case and a $12 million fine. After Apple debuted a competitor product called Screen Time in iOS 12, the firm claimed that Apple forced it to reduce the functionality of its Safe Kids app.
"We worked with Kaspersky to get their app in compliance with rules that were put in place to protect children," Apple said when accused by Kaspersky. "They now have 13 apps on the App Store and we have processed hundreds of updates for them."
Apple's antitrust battle is ongoing, and regulators may attempt to oversee numerous elements of Apple's company. Russia has already sought legislation to limit Apple's App Store commission to 20% and to allow rival app stores.
FAS claims that Apple has had a "consistent policy on restricting the tools and capabilities for developing parental control applications" since 2018, coinciding with the release of the Screen Time feature.
In September 2018, Apple announced Screen Time with iOS 12, which was available to iPhone and iPad customers. Kaspersky claimed that prior to this, Apple had never raised concerns about the Kaspersky Safe Kids app.
According to Kaspersky, Apple rejected the app's functionality because they relied on iOS configuration profiles, which violated App Store guidelines. Companies utilize iOS configuration profiles as part of a mobile device management solution. Apple's rules compelled Kaspersky to delete two functions that it felt important to its purpose, the Russian company argued.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Russia has also taken action against Google, which has been fined over 32 million roubles ($455,079) for failing to remove content that Moscow considers to be illegal.
Local news outlets said that Vasily Piskarev, the head of a parliamentary commission investigating foreign influence in Russia, said that Google representatives had expressed a desire to engage in a dialogue.
