Russia says Google must correct contracts with mobile manufacturers by November 18

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's anti-monopoly agency said on Monday that Google Inc had until Nov. 18 to address charges that it was abusing its market position in the country.

The FAS anti-monopoly body said Google must correct its contracts with manufacturers after ruling in September that the software giant had broken the law by pre-installing certain applications on mobile devices.

The case, launched by local competitor Yandex, is being watched keenly in other countries where Google capitalizes on the popularity of its Android mobile operating system.

Yandex is ahead of Google in Russia but has seen competition stiffen in mobile phones as consumers have adopted Android-based handsets that come pre-loaded with Google products that compete directly with Yandex applications.

"Our goal is to return fair play to the market," Yandex said in a statement. "Our position is strong and we intend to defend it in case of appeal at any level. This view is shared by a number of companies outside of Russia."

Google is currently being investigated by the European Commission for allegedly using its influence over Internet search results to favor its Google Shopping service over rivals.

If it fails to comply with the FAS ruling, Google could face penalties totaling up to 15 percent of its 2014 revenue in the mobile applications part of the Russian market.

TASS news agency cited a Google press officer as saying the company would make a decision after studying the FAS statement.

(Reporting by Jack Stubbs and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by David Evans)

You May Also Be Interested In

• Yellen says it is important to unlock value of Russian assets to aid Ukraine
• Japan firms business mood slips as weak yen squeezes households
• Vote on EU cybersecurity label delayed to May, sources say