Russian Digital Markets Regulation

Fifth Antimonopoly Package and Digital Platforms

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Federalnaya Antimonopolnaya Sluzhba, FAS) has been at the forefront of digital markets regulation through its so-called Fifth Antimonopoly Package, adopted as amendments to Federal Law No. 135-FZ on Protection of Competition (the Competition Law) in 2023. This legislative package introduced the concept of a digital platform (tsifrovaya platforma) as a distinct market participant subject to special competition rules. Article 10.1 of the Competition Law now defines a digital platform as an information system used for transactions between sellers and buyers, where the platform operator has the ability to influence the general terms of circulation of goods or services on the platform.

The Fifth Package imposes specific prohibitions on dominant digital platforms, including bans on: (1) self-preferencing — giving the platform operator’s own goods or services more favourable treatment than those of third-party sellers; (2) tying — requiring sellers to purchase additional services as a condition of platform access; (3) discriminatory ranking — manipulating search rankings to disadvantage competing sellers; and (4) data misuse — using data collected from sellers to compete against them. The thresholds for dominance in digital markets are reduced: a platform may be found dominant with a market share below the traditional 50% threshold where network effects, data advantages, or entry barriers are present. The FAS has issued guidelines on digital market definition emphasising multi-sided markets, indirect network effects, and the importance of user data as a competitive asset.

Marketplace Liability and Platform Responsibility

Russian law imposes significant liability on digital marketplace operators for goods sold through their platforms. The Federal Law on Protection of Consumer Rights (Zakon RF No. 2300-1 of 1992) was amended in 2021 to classify digital platforms meeting certain criteria as owners of digital marketplaces (vladeltsy tsifrovykh torgovykh ploshchadok), with joint and several liability for defects in goods sold on the platform where the platform controls pricing, delivery, or customer communications. This liability framework is more onerous than the intermediary safe harbour provisions found in EU law.

The Fifth Package also introduces the concept of a platform with significant market power (znachimaya tsifrovaya platforma), subject to additional obligations including transparency in ranking algorithms, nondiscriminatory access conditions, and mandatory data portability. The FAS maintains a Register of Digital Platforms with Significant Market Power, which currently includes Yandex.Market, Wildberries, Ozon, and SberMarket. Inclusion in the register triggers heightened scrutiny and the possibility of structural remedies, including mandatory unbundling of related services.

Yandex Dominance Cases

Yandex, the Russian technology conglomerate, has been the subject of multiple competition enforcement actions by the FAS. The most significant case concerned the Yandex Services general search market — FAS v Yandex (Case No. 05/01/10-55/2020) — in which the FAS found that Yandex’s practice of promoting its own vertical services (Yandex.Market, Yandex.Maps, Yandex.Taxi) over competing services in search results constituted abuse of dominance under Article 10 of the Competition Law. The FAS imposed a fine of 4.6 billion RUB in 2022 and required Yandex to adopt a principle of equal ranking for its own and third-party services. This led to the Yandex.Zen and Yandex.News remedies, where Yandex agreed to a settlement including technical measures to ensure nondiscriminatory ranking and an external compliance monitor.

An earlier case, FAS v Yandex (2019) on Yandex.Taxi market concentration, addressed Yandex’s acquisition of Vezet Group, with the FAS approving the merger subject to conditions including price caps and transparency in driver allocation algorithms. The case established the FAS’s approach to vertical integration in platform markets, requiring that platform operators maintain separate pricing systems for in-house and third-party services.

Wildberries Antitrust Scrutiny

Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform, has faced sustained antitrust scrutiny since 2021. The FAS initiated proceedings against Wildberries in 2022 for abuse of dominance under Article 10, alleging: (1) unilateral reduction of sellers’ remuneration without contractual basis; (2) imposition of unfavourable terms for product returns and logistics; and (3) opaque financial penalties against sellers for alleged policy violations. The FAS issued a warning in 2023 requiring Wildberries to amend its seller agreement to provide clearer terms for fee changes, penalty calculation, and dispute resolution. The case highlighted the regulator’s focus on the imbalance of bargaining power between platforms and sellers and led to amendments to the Trade Law (Federal Law No. 381-FZ) requiring platforms to publish transparent ranking criteria and provide at least 30 days’ notice of material contract changes.

In 2024, the FAS opened a further investigation into Wildberries’ logistics pricing practices, examining whether the platform’s mandatory use of its own logistics services (Wildberries Logistics) constituted anticompetitive tying. The investigation was resolved through a settlement including commitments to offer sellers the option of third-party logistics providers and to separate logistics fees from commission fees.

Data Access and Portability

The Fifth Antimonopoly Package introduced data access and portability obligations for dominant digital platforms. Article 10.1(4) of the Competition Law requires platforms to provide users with the ability to transfer their data to third-party services in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. The FAS has issued technical guidelines specifying XML and JSON as acceptable formats and requiring that data portability requests be fulfilled within 30 days. The obligation covers transaction history, user profile data, and behavioural data generated through platform use.

The data portability obligation interacts with the data localisation requirement under 152-FZ. The FAS and Roskomnadzor have issued joint guidance confirming that data portability obligations do not override data localisation requirements: data may be transferred to third-party services only where those services also comply with Russian data protection law, including the requirement to use databases physically located in Russia. This guidance effectively limits cross-border data portability and may create compliance tensions for international platform operators.

Enforcement and Penalties

The FAS has developed a specialised Digital Technologies and Platforms Directorate responsible for digital market enforcement. The directorate conducts market studies, merger reviews, and abuse of dominance investigations in digital markets. Penalties for abuse of dominance by digital platforms are calculated as a percentage of revenue from the relevant product market, ranging from 1% to 15% under Article 14.31 of the Code of Administrative Offences. For repeat violations, the FAS may seek turnover-based penalties of up to 4% of total group revenue. Structural remedies, including mandatory separation of business lines, are available where behavioural remedies are insufficient to restore competition.

The FAS Clarification No. 9 of 2023 on digital market definition provides that network effects, data advantages, user multihoming, and innovation dynamics must be considered in market definition for digital platforms, departing from traditional product market analysis. The clarification has been applied in merger reviews of Yandex’s acquisitions in the e-commerce and mobility sectors and in the ongoing investigation of Ozon’s marketplace practices.