MOSCOW, July 4 (RAPSI) – The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has issued a warning to Google's Russian subsidiary, suspecting the company of abuse of dominance in connection with its allegedly adverse contractual terms applied to app developers using Google’s app store for distribution.
The service has found the rules related to the distribution of paid apps through Google Play require developers to use only the company’s payment system exclusively. If developers violate those rules, the sanction may be up to the removal of an app, FAS noted in its statement.
Google LLC must comply with the warning within one month. Otherwise, the regulator reserves the right to bring an action for alleged antimonopoly law breach, the statement reads.
In May, the branch filed for bankruptcy as it had been fined several times and its bank account had been seized by Russian authorities. Announcing its plans Google LLC stated it can no longer pay staff, suppliers, vendors and meet other financial obligations.