MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) A Russian appeal court has upheld the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS)'s decision to fine Google 2 billion rubles ($26 million) for abusing its dominant position on the market with nontransparent blocking rules on YouTube.
In February 2022, FAS found Google guilty of violating antitrust laws by applying "non-transparent, biased and unpredictable" blocking rules against YouTube users and demanded that the company eliminate the violation. In July, the Russian agency imposed a turnover fine on Google.
The 9th Arbitration Court of Appeals has confirmed that YouTube's rules contained vague provisions allowing the service to "almost groundlessly block (and delete) accounts (and content) of any YouTube user," while the platform's share in Russia's video hosting market exceeded 50% and thus held a monopolistic position.
The fine has gone into effect following the appeal court's decision.
Google had previously filed an appeal to a lower court against the decision of FAS last year, saying that users of its video platform could challenge their blocking, with around 500,000 accounts restored after the consideration of around 2 million appeals.
FAS launched a probe into Google's rules regarding the formation, suspension and blocking of accounts, and the handling of user content on YouTube in April 2021.
