Google Abusing Market Dominance, Russian Watchdog Says

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 15 September 2015 09:29 IST
Russia's anti-monopoly agency said on Monday Google Inc was abusing its market position in the country and would face penalties, in a case launched by local competitor Yandex.

The FAS anti-monopoly body said Google had violated the law by pre-installing certain applications on mobile devices and could face penalties totalling up to 15 percent of its 2014 revenue in this part of the Russian market.

FAS declined to specify the revenue in question, saying it was a trade secret, but said it would decide on the exact value of the fine after September 28. It added Google must then pay and change its ways, or risk more fines if violations continue.

Advertisement

Google Russia said it would analyse the decision and declined further comment until then.

Shares in Yandex, which rivals Google as Russia's biggest Internet search engine, rose as much as 9 percent before stabilising around 7 percent higher.

Advertisement

Yandex, which filed a complaint against Google with FAS in February, welcomed the decision.

"We believe the FAS decision will serve to restore competition on the market," the company said.

Advertisement

It added the complaint included the practice of bundling applications from the Google Mobile Services with the Google Play store, requiring pre-installation of the Google search engine as the default one, and giving Google application icons preferential placement on the screen of mobile devices.

"In addition, the investigation confirmed the existence of agreements on prohibition of pre-installation of competitors' apps," Yandex said.

Advertisement

Yandex is ahead of Google in Russia but has seen competition stiffen in mobile phones as consumers have adopted Android-based handsets that come pre-loaded with Google products that compete directly with Yandex applications.

Google's total 2014 revenue stood at $66 billion (roughly Rs. 4,37,621 crores). The company's website does not provide a separate revenue figure for Russia, or the exact segment involved in the case.

Analysts at App Annie say Russia was Google's No.4 market in the world in the second quarter of 2015 in terms of Google Play downloads.

The European Union is conducting its own anti-trust case against Google.

© Thomson Reuters 2015

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Antitrust, Google, Internet, Yandex
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Xiaomi Power Bank 20000mAh 165W to Launch in India On This Day
  2. Samsung Galaxy A27 Review
  3. Oppo A7 Pro Confirmed to Launch on This Date: See Features, Design
  4. iPhone 18 Pro Max Roundup: Everything We Know Ahead of Launch
  5. Tecno Pova 8 Pro 5G Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition Unveiled
  1. IFA 2026: Lenovo Unveiled New IdeaPad, Yoga and ThinkBook Laptops
  2. IFA 2026: Nvidia RTX Spark PCs, Local AI Tools Announced With October Launch Planned
  3. WhatsApp Reportedly Rolling Out Third-Party AI Agent Chats to Android Users
  4. Luna Band Now Available Globally: Check Price in India, Specifications and Features
  5. Pocket Bitcoin Data Breach Exposes Personal and Financial Information of 5,411 Customers
  6. Google Pixel Watch 5 Stephen Curry Special Edition Goes on Sale: Price, Features and More
  7. IFA 2026: Noise Master Buds Open With Sound by Bose Technology Unveiled
  8. Binance Warns of Phishing Scam Targeting Crypto Users With Fake Account Security Alerts
  9. Oppo Find X10 Pro Max, Find X10 India Launch Seems Imminent as Phones Appear on Certification Site
  10. Xiaomi Smart Band 11 Active Launched With Up to 21 Days of Battery Life; Smart Band 11 Price, Features Revealed
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.