Russian court rejects Google's Android appeal

Russia's competition watchdog objects to the way Google bundles its own apps with Android

Google has failed in its latest attempt to appeal against a Russian competition over its mobile operating system.

The ruling had criticised Google for requiring smartphone makers to pre-load several of its apps alongside its Android OS.

Google had challenged the decision on the basis manufacturers could develop their own versions of Android or pre-install other apps of their choosing.

It now faces a 438m rouble ($6.8m; £5.2m) fine.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) originally ruled against the US company in 2015, after a complaint by the Russian search engine Yandex.

"We are convinced that executing the determination will enable competition development on the market of mobile software in Russia," it said in a statement last week, when it announced the size of the penalty.

The FAS added that, despite Google's protestations, it believed the company was indeed "prohibiting" the pre-installation of apps from rivals.

Google challenged the decision in Moscow's Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal, after being turned away by a lower court in March.

The European Commission has also accused the company of breaching EU competition law by requiring Android phones to have YouTube, Google Maps, its Play store and other proprietary apps pre-loaded.

If found guilty, Google could be fined up to $7.4bn, representing 10% of it global annual sales.