Apple appeal hearing postponed in Russia antitrust case

Apple faces a large fine for abusing its market power with Screen Time.

What you need to know

A Russian court has postponed a hearing on Apple’s appeal against an antitrust ruling in the country.
Apple has appealed a $12 million fine over claims it abused its market power over third-party parental controls app.
Apple has told a court it needs time to study a reply to its appeal by Russia’s antitrust body.

A hearing on an appeal against a $12 million fine handed to Apple by a Russian antitrust body has been postponed until September.

Sputnik reports that a Russian appeals court granted Apple’s request for a delay in proceedings as it takes time to study a response submitted by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS):

A Russian appeals court has put off a hearing in the case of Apple limiting the functionality of third-party parental control apps until September.

A person briefed on the case told Sputnik that Russia’s antitrust regulator FAS submitted to the court its reply to Apple’s request to cancel a $12 million fine. The technology company said it needed time to study the note.

The FAS handed Apple a $12 million fine over claims it abused its market power to squeeze out third-party parental control apps including an app called ‘Safe Kids’ with its new Screen Time feature in iOS 12. As the report notes the investigation into Apple kicked off in 2019 following a complaint from Kaspersky Lab, who stated that Apple forced it to limit the functionality of its Safe Kids app.

Apple had previously stated that it “respectfully disagreed” with the FAS’s ruling, signaling in April its plan to appeal. The case will next call in September to give Apple time to study FAS’s response to its appeal.