Google was fined for violating antitrust rules on phones

Aug 12, 2016 14:17 GMT  ·  By

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has fined Google Inc. $6.75 million for violating antitrust rules on tablets and mobile phones. This comes as a result of the complaint Yandex NV filed last year.

In 2015, Russia's local search engine Yandex filed a complaint against Google at FAS. Yandex was displeased with Google's requirement for smartphone and tablet manufacturers to install Search, Maps, and other services as part of the Play Store package.

This allegedly gave the company an unfair advantage over alternative services, Bloomberg reports. In October, FAS gave Google one month to remove apps from phones, but the company didn't comply. Google motivated its decision by saying that advertising revenue generated from its services helps the company recover the costs of providing Android OS for free.

While that might be the case, FAS seems to have decided to fine Google to force it to comply. As it turns out, the Mountain View-based giant has already filed an appeal to the fine, and the hearing has been scheduled on August 16.

Android accounts for 74% of all mobile devices in Russia

Google imposes applications to be installed on many Android smartphones all over the world while Yandex could have simply gotten a customized open-source version of Android in order to keep its position in the market. Yandex currently holds 60% of Russia's search engine market, which isn't a negligible share.

The company could worry about holding its position on the Russian's market, considering that Android is present on 74% of all mobile devices in the country, and consumers are spending more and more time on their phones, which means more searches are done on Google rather than Yandex in the country.

The amount of the fine shouldn't affect Google financially, considering that it's one of the biggest companies in the world. It was established based on Russia's regulations, which state that the fine in the case of violation of antitrust laws must reach 15% of the company's revenue within the country recorded in 2014.