The AppStore is one of the biggest mobile online markets.
But as we all know, sometimes when it rains — it pours. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is gaining on Apple with another fine, this time for $17.4 million. This one is related to the AppStore’s way of processing payments and more specifically, the lack of options that developers have when it comes to choosing how they bill their customers.
As per Reuters’ report, Russia sees Apple’s rules as abuse over its dominant position on the iOS market. Furthermore, the big, red, flashing light is related to Apple’s prohibition of developers to point users to payment solutions outside of the AppStore itself.
This is yet another instance of Apple being pursued by legislators worldwide over the way it runs its AppStore. This isn’t something unique to Apple either, as Google was recently forced through law to open up Android to third-party stores in India. As more and more lawsuits are being won against Big Tech companies, one cant help but wonder what the future of mobile digital goods will look like.