The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said in a written statement to Apple that the company must end discrimination against Russian search engines and ensure that local software is pre-installed on devices running the iOS operating system. The statement said that if Apple does not comply by July 15, an investigation will be launched under competition protection laws, and if a violation is found, a fine of up to 4 billion rubles could be applied.
The statement pointed out that currently iPhones and iPads come with a foreign search engine set as default, forcing users who want to use Russian search engines to manually change the settings. FAS emphasized that this practice creates discriminatory conditions for Russian software developers and violates consumer rights.
In Russia, smart devices sold in the country are legally required to have Russian search engines and certain local software pre-installed. If Apple fails to comply with this law, it could face heavy financial penalties.
Meanwhile, Russian technology company VK announced on June 25 that its applications were removed from the App Store without any warning, and downloads and updates were stopped. Apple had removed Russia's national messaging app MAX from the App Store in early June.