Google has been found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the Russian market, a spokesperson for the country’s antitrust regulator told The Wall Street Journal. In February, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service opened an investigation into Google for alleged anti-competitive practices related to how the company bundles apps with its Android mobile operating system. This followed a complaint from Google's Russian rival in the search market Yandex.
The Russian regulator has 10 business days to issue its ruling on the case in full. Google said it had not yet received the decision. Yandex said that it “welcomes the positive decision by FAS which has figured out this complicated case and having studied the proof, has confirmed Google’s violations.” Following the ruling, Google may be ordered to change its agreements with phonemakers in order to accommodate the concerns of Yandex and other developers. Google could also face a fine.
