Russian court rejects Google's anti-monopoly appeal

The Moscow Arbitration Court has dismissed an appeal by Google against a decision by Russia's competition watchdog that the US company broke anti-monopoly laws.

The court upheld the ruling of Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) that Google abused its dominant position in the Russian market with its Android mobile platform.

Last September FAS ruled the firm had broken Russian law by using its Android mobile operating system to promote its own services.

The case was started following a complaint by Yandex, Google's main rival in Russia.

One of Europe’s largest internet companies, Yandex operates Russia's most popular search engine.

READ MORE: Google ordered to correct anti-monopoly violations – Russian watchdog

According to Yandex, companies are forced to accept the terms established by Google to get to key elements of the Android operating system, including Google Play, which is Google's official store for Android applications, games and other content. The American company can set any restriction as a ban on collaboration with rival services, according to Yandex.

To comply with the court’s ruling Google has to amend the contracts with smartphone manufacturers. The firm might face a fine of seven percent of Google Play’s turnover in Russia in 2014 if no extenuating circumstances are found.