Russia threatens Apple with a $52 million fine

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has warned Apple it could face a fine of up to 4 billion rubles, roughly $51.6 million, if the company doesn't address alleged discrimination against Russian software by July 15.

Apple is accused by the FAS of using a non-Russian search engine as a default one for its iPhones and iPads and requiring the consumer to select the alternative Russian search engine themselves.

The regulator also faulted Apple for failing to preinstall Russian software required under local law, including the state-backed Max messenger and RuStore, the country's government-run app marketplace.

Russia adopted this mandatory pre-installation requirement for Max and other domestic applications only a year ago; however, Apple had not been actively enforcing it because the company ended official sales of iPhones and iPads in Russia in March of 2022, when Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine.

All new iPhones and iPads now arriving in the country are smuggled from countries such as Kazakhstan, Dubai, or Hong Kong because Apple does not have any official partners in the country anymore.

This comes after Apple's decision last month to remove several apps associated with Russia's VK holding company from the App Store.

Although Max was removed due to sanctions requirements, Apple has yet to explain why others were deleted. The Russian Ministry of Digital Transformation claims that all these deletions were politically motivated and complained to the FAS.