The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service announced it has opened a case against Apple for not pre-installing the Russian "Max" app and the local app store on iPhones.
The press service of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service announced that it has opened a case against the American company "Apple" for not including the Russian messaging application "Max" and the local app store in its iPhones.
The agency had previously issued an official warning to Apple, demanding that it ensure the pre-installation of Russian software on devices running the iOS operating system.
The agency explained that, according to Russian legislation, local search engines should operate by default on smartphones sold in Russia; however, iPhones relied on a foreign search engine.
For its part, Apple stated that it has made available the option to pre-install a Russian search engine starting from July 27 as part of the new operating system update.
However, the company did not comply with the warning issued by the authority regarding the mandatory installation of the "Max" messaging application and the Russian app store on iPhones and iPads.
The agency's statement read: "The department has opened a case against Apple, and if a violation of the Competition Protection Act is proven after the investigations are completed, the company will be fined in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation."
