FAS insisted on lifting the moratorium on checks for marketplaces

On May 22, the Public Council under the Federal Antimonopoly Service sent a letter to the government with a proposal to withdraw marketplaces from the moratorium on inspections of IT companies. This was reported to journalists by the head of the service Maxim Shaskolsky on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum.

“The position has not changed, we believe that it is necessary to withdraw,” clarified Shaskolsky (quote from RIA Novosti).

In April, Vedomosti wrote that the FAS was preparing such a proposal. It was planned to send it to the government by April 28. The removal of marketplaces from the moratorium is necessary so that the FAS can analyze the activities of Internet platforms “for the compliance of their actions in relation to suppliers, antitrust laws.” According to the representative of the service, the FAS “advocates an equal approach to all market participants.”

The issue of resuming checks on marketplaces was initiated against the backdrop of a conflict between one of the largest market players, Wildberries, and the owners of pickup points (PIUs), which broke out in mid-March. The Mintsifra previously stated that it was incorrect to withdraw marketplaces as IT companies from the scope of the decree, and issues in the relations of market participants “are successfully resolved by self-regulation.” Wildberries called this approach irrational.

In March 2022, the government issued a decree that applies to IT companies accredited in the Russian Federation and provides for a ban on all types of state and municipal control (supervision), with the exception of unscheduled checks on the facts of detection of databases with personal data leaked to the Internet or improper advertising. The Decree leaves for the regulatory authorities only the implementation of “preventive measures in the form of counseling, informing, self-examination.” The moratorium on inspections is valid until the end of 2024.