Russia fines Apple $12 million for alleged abuse of dominance in app market

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said it had fined Apple $12 million for alleged abuse of its dominance in the mobile applications market, in the latest dispute between Moscow and a Western technology firm.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said on Tuesday that U.S. tech giant Apple’s distribution of apps through its iOS operating system gave its own products a competitive advantage.

Apple said it “respectfully disagreed” with the FAS ruling and that it would appeal it.

Western tech companies have come under increasing pressure in Russia in recent months, with social network Twitter punitively slowed down over a failure to delete content which Moscow says is illegal.