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The App Store logo: Other countries are also examining the smartphone manufacturer's business model
Photo: Chris Delmas / AFP
Apple is set to pay a fine in Russia for abusing its position of power in the App Store.
This was announced by the Russian Antitrust Authority (FAS) on Tuesday.
Nothing is known about the exact amount of the fine, but the amount should be based on the sales of the iPhone group.
In particular, the authority accuses Apple of refusing the providers of apps for iPhone and iPad alternative payment methods from which Apple cannot withhold commission payments.
"The company has abused its dominant position in the iOS app market," the agency said in a statement.
Other procedures too
With its business model, Apple had also encountered criticism in Western countries.
Among other things, "Fortnite" manufacturer Epic Games had litigated against Apple.
The EU intends to significantly restrict the power of platform providers.
But the iPhone group has not had to pay a fine so far.
The amount of the penalty is only to be determined in the course of a further investigation, but is likely to be substantial.
According to Apple, the App Store generated a total of around 643 billion dollars in sales in 2020 alone.
In the first quarter of 2022, the company made $25 billion in profit.
It has not yet commented on the allegations from Russia.
In the past year, Russian authorities have repeatedly imposed fines on Western IT companies.
However, these were mostly in the amount of the equivalent of a few tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros.
But since the beginning of the war of aggression in Ukraine, Moscow has stepped up its pace.
The Russian media regulator is demanding a fine of the equivalent of 361 million euros from Google's parent company Alphabet because the group did not delete illegal content.
tmk/reuters