Russian Regulators Take a Closer Look at Yandex
Russian Regulators Take a Closer Look at Yandex
Hi there,
Greetings from the other side, the European part of the world. I'm in Ireland this week, a country that is starting to see a bit of light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.
Over in Russia, there is a new wind of anti-monopolistic scrutiny, as several regulatory agencies are taking a closer look at search and advertising practices.
Russia has been one of the few markets in the world where a domestic search giant has managed to keep Google away from the top spot as well as smaller local competitors at bay. But how long will the Yandex reign last?
Do you have comments or overlooked story ideas? I’m at Daria@RussianTechNews.com.
~ Daria
YANDEX WATCH
> Yandex is facing domestic scrutiny from a Russian regulator after competitors’ complaints. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has filed a case against Yandex, looking into the company’s “possible anticompetitive practices,” according to the agency’s website. Yandex has 60% share of the search market as of Q4 2020. This case could mark the beginning of a new chapter for Yandex’s search dominance and could set the rules for the rest of the market players, as The Bell points out.
> Eurasian Economic Union regulator is investigating regional search results, advertising and anti-competitive practices. Eurasian Economic Commission, a Moscow-based regulator that governs Eurasian Economic Union, is looking into violations of wider search and digital advertising markets. The head of the agency told Vedomosti their goal is to “analyze the market and identify possible competitive violations”.
[Source: Vedomosti]
> Yandex to take its grocery delivery service to Paris and London. Yandex.Lavka, the company’s online delivery service which launched in Russia in 2019 and expanded to Israel last year under the Yango Deli brand, plans to begin operations in Paris in the second quarter of 2021.
[Source: Reuters]
TRANSPORT
> Russian mobile operator MTS is considering an investment in electric scooter company Lite, Vedomosti reports. Currently Lite operates in two cities, Moscow and Sochi. The popularity of e-scooters has been on the rise, recent surveys show.
[Sources: Vedomosti, VC.ru, Sberbank]
FINTECH
> The Central Bank moves to regulate the fintech sector. Russia’s central bank unveiled its three-year plan for a national payments system, which includes creation of an organization for non-banks that offer financial services. The goal is to develop regulation, criteria for market entry and other guidelines by Q4 of 2021, according to the First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova.
[Source: Interfax]
> The Russian government is working on legislation that would make digital wallets accessible to anyone offline. This initiative is a part of the central bank’s effort to introduce digital ruble by the end of the year.
[Source: FBM]
SPACE NEWS
> Roscosmos is exploring “human transformation” for space flight. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos said on his Telegram channel that “we can’t change space” conditions to fit our requirements. “Therefore we need to think about adapting the human body” to the challenges of space flight. The agency executive said earlier this could include genetic engineering and cell therapies.
> Russia considers withdrawal from the International Space Station, plans to build its own station. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov cited “technical malfunctions” and a desire to “avoid any risks in case of accidents.”
> China picked a Russian science payload to fly on an upcoming mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid and later visit a main-belt comet. This follows last March’s announcement of an MOU between China and Russia to create a joint research station on the Moon.
[Source: Space.com]
LONG READ
> Meduza’s deep dive explains how the Russian government allocated $1.7 billion to a seven-year genetics program and why it is likely to spend more in the coming years. Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter Maria Vorontsova is one of the key figures overseeing the program whose projects range from far-reaching “gene weapons” to the more prosaic genetic modification of potatoes and sugar beets.
[Source: Meduza, Photo: TASS]