Despite Apple's appeal, a Russian court upheld a $12 million fine against Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant position in in-app store payments.A Russian court rejected an appeal by Apple, which was fined 1.2 billion rubles (approximately $12 million) in January for allegedly abusing its dominant position in in-app payments.
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The fine was originally imposed by Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which said Apple violated competition rules by forcing Russian developers to use its payment services in the iOS App Store.
Apple is facing the threat of antitrust lawsuits over accusations it prevents developers from connecting users to external payment options, known as "steering." The company was ordered to meet this requirement by September 2021, and Russia filed the lawsuit in October.
Apple is appealing for judicial review days after it removed an anti-direction clause from its App Store rules.
In April 2022, the court dismissed Apple's lawsuit, giving Russia's FAS reason to continue investigating Apple's practices in the App Store.
Reuters noted that as the ruble has depreciated since January, the value of the fine in U.S. dollars has declined and is now more than $5 million less.