If you’ll recall, Apple started whittling away at parental control apps for iOS. At the time, many were being blocked from the App Store because of access to configuration profiles via the Device Management functionality. However, that did not go over well with some entities, including the Russian government.
The Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) in the region began investigating Apple more thoroughly after the Kaspersky Safe Kids app, developed by Kaspersky Lab, was pulled from the App Store. The developer raised a complaint against Apple, which in turn led to the investigation. In August of last year, the FAS ruled that Apple had indeed abused its monopolistic power through the App Store.
Now, the fine related to that decision has been handed down against Apple.
Reuters reports that Apple has been fined $12 million (906.3 million roubles) by the Russian government. The Russian government believes this will be a noticeable impact to Apple’s “financial statements”, but Apple is already planning to appeal this decision, too.
What’s more, Apple provided a statement to the publication, saying that it helped Kaspersky Lab get its app back on the App Store. Apple added that Kaspersky Lab now has more than a dozen apps available in the digital storefront:
We worked with Kaspersky to get their app in compliance with rules that were put in place to protect children,’ Apple said in a statement. ‘They now have 13 apps on the App Store and we have processed hundreds of updates for them.
That’s not a huge fine, all things considered. However, it’s something that Apple can’t ignore — unless the appeals process works out in Apple’s favor down the road, of course.