Russia fails to reach settlement with Google in Android case

Russia’s state anti-monopoly watchdog FAS said on Tuesday it and Alphabet Inc’s Google had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement in a case over Google’s Android operating system, Interfax news agency reported.

The watchdog last week imposed a 438 million ruble ($6.85 million) fine on Google after ruling last year that the firm was abusing its dominance by requiring the pre-installation of certain applications on mobile devices using Android, following a complaint by Russia’s Yandex.

Google had appealed the ruling while FAS said an out-of court deal was possible should Google admit to violations of antitrust laws and pay a fine.

“The talks with Google on the issue of the settlement agreement have come to nothing. Now it’s up to the court to draw a line under this case,” Interfax quoted Elena Zaeva, head of FAS’s Department for Regulation of Telecommunications and Information Technology, as saying.

Zaeva was quoted as saying a court would hear Google’s appeal on Wednesday.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.