Russia (bbabo.net), - The Federal Antimonopoly Service, Yandex and the applicants in the antimonopoly case entered into a settlement agreement. The document, after being signed by all parties in the antimonopoly case, was approved by the Moscow Arbitration Court, the FAS press service reported.
"Yandex" recognized the validity of the warning issued by the FAS and complied with the requirements of the service. The applicants confirmed that the company had taken all necessary actions aimed at eliminating discriminatory conditions in its own search engine.
According to the head of the FAS Maxim Shaskolsky, the settlement agreement takes into account the position of all parties.
"This document is also a confirmation of the possibility of self-regulation of digital markets in Russia. We managed not to drag out litigation for years, but by joint efforts to implement mechanisms that allow all market participants to develop successfully," Shaskolsky said.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Digital Development, within the framework of the agreement, Yandex will transfer 1.5 billion rubles to the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT), the funds will be used to promote Russian software. The department noted that they welcome the agreement of the parties.
Elena Kuznetsova, head of the antimonopoly law practice of the Infralex law firm, noted the role of the FAS in the application of "soft" law. According to the expert, the Antimonopoly Service managed to help the parties to the dispute reach an agreement and eliminate the problem that hinders development. "And everyone wins from the elimination of the problem: the state, business and citizens." Kuznetsova added.
The antimonopoly case against Yandex was initiated in April 2021. This happened after the IT giant did not comply with the order of the department, issued back in February.
The complaint was filed by a number of Russian online services, including CIAN and Avito, accusing Yandex of abusing its dominant position. Their main complaint was that "sorcerers" (a special search engine output module whose task is to give an accurate and concise answer to a user's query right on the search results page) most often appear higher in the search results and allow users to satisfy their request without move to another page. The companies also claimed that only Yandex services can get into such blocks, which leads to loss of traffic by other sites.
After reviewing the complaint, the FAS ordered Yandex to stop giving preference to companies from its group for promotion in search results. It was, in particular, "Yandex.Vertical", "Yandex.Market", "Yandex.Mediaservices" and "Kinopoisk". Without a settlement agreement, the company was threatened with a turnover penalty on the amount of revenue in the market.
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