A lawsuit filed in 2015 by Yandex, a Russian search engine company, against tech giant Google over the pre-installation of apps on Android devices has favored Yandex.
The Verge reported that the anti-monopoly agency in Russia hit Google with a $6.75 antitrust fine for requiring device makers to pre-install Google app on Android mobile gadgets. While the fine is a drop in the bucket for Google, even less than what the tech giant make n one hour, the decision indicates the tighter regulation for Google in Russia.
Bloomberg explained that the amount is based on the share of Google Play’s domestic sales, or 1 to 15 percent of a violator’s revenue for 2014.
It is just one of the many antitrust complaints Google has to battle in Europe where Google is accused of using its dominant market position to force mobile device makers to pre-install its apps on gadgets run by Android OS. But in Russia, Yandex – which controls 60 percent of the local market - dared challenge Google in a court of law, and even won.
Another American tech giant, Cupertino-based Apple, is also in the radar of FSA, the antitrust watchdog of Russia, over alleged price-fixing of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. FSA noted that even after these new Apple flagships have reached Russian market in October 2015, prices of devices from Apple and 16 resellers were kept at the same rate for a long time.