Google will not join the Russian store – Newspaper Kommersant No. 60 (7505) of 04/07/2023
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Manufacturers and sellers of electronics criticize the draft government decree obliging to provide the RuStore mobile app store with access to system settings and permissions. They note that the requirement is contrary to agreements with Google and threatens phone manufacturers with problems in the global market. Under the conditions of parallel imports, pre-installation norms are not actually implemented, lawyers say. Sources of Kommersant specify that the equipment imported into the Russian Federation through parallel imports does not fall under the new decree. There are risks only for distributors who are still working officially.
“Kommersant” got acquainted with the review of the Association of Trade Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK; unites Samsung, Huawei, M.Video-Eldorado and others) on the draft government decree developed by the Ministry of Digital Development, which describes the rules for pre-installation of the RuStore application store. The document requires vendors and persons authorized by them to integrate RuStore into the device to the same extent as the store of the OS or device manufacturer (see “Kommersant” dated March 8). Such requirements are “in most cases technically unfeasible” as Google, which develops the Android system, prohibits its system services (GMS) licensees from granting such privileges to third-party applications. “An attempt to sell a device with GMS without a license in the Russian Federation may lead to the revocation of the license for the model all over the world,” says RATEK in proposals published on regulation.gov.ru.
The Ministry of Digital Development was not convinced by RATEK’s arguments, and the officials did not make the relevant changes to the project, follows from the new version of the document, published on April 5. The ministry explains that, for example, Samsung and Xiaomi smartphones already have app stores installed that are alternative to the Google Play Market – Galaxy Store and GetApps.
RuStore has been included in the list of programs required to be pre-installed on phones sold in the Russian Federation since January 1. Responsibility for the sale of electronics without Russian software lies with the sellers. However, they cannot fully comply with these standards, since equipment imported through alternative channels is originally intended for sale in other regions, says Yury Fedyukin, partner at Enterprise Legal Solutions. “Now there are various ways out of the situation, for example, providing the buyer with a QR code with links to applications. But this method does not comply with the law,” he notes. Mr. Fedyukin clarifies that so far no one is trying to punish market participants, however, “in the context of the legalization of parallel imports, the very fact of such a risk looks strange.”
Market participants are interested in ensuring that their work complies with the law — “in conditions when many brands have left the Russian Federation, and products imported through parallel imports enter the market, we are in dialogue with the regulator so that the regulatory requirements are feasible,” emphasizes RATEK representative Anton Guskov. He notes that a number of requirements can be effectively technically implemented only in the process of manufacturing gadgets. RATEK “is in contact with the Ministry of Digital Development” and intends to convey its position to VK, added Mr. Guskov. VK declined to comment, The Ministry of Digital Development did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Meanwhile, Kommersant’s interlocutor, close to the government, draws attention to another loophole: in the current version of the draft resolution, the obligation to pre-install RuStore extends to manufacturers or persons authorized by them – “this means that goods imported through parallel imports are not subject to norms.” Thus, the Kommersant source explains, in fact, the norm can create problems only for those Russian distributors who continue to officially work with foreign manufacturers of equipment. As a result, if the decree comes into force, brands still operating in the Russian Federation will have to “either put their entire business in the world at risk, which is unlikely, or refuse their official presence in the Russian Federation,” adds a Kommersant interlocutor among electronics manufacturers. Previously, the mandatory pre-installation law did not require access to the OS system settings for any application.
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