Russian court slaps Google, Meta with massive fines
PTI, Dec 25, 2021, 8:49 AM IST
Image Courtesy: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Moscow: A Moscow court on Friday slapped Google with a nearly $100 million fine and also fined Facebook’s parent company Meta $27 million over their failure to delete content banned by local law, as Russia seeks to step up pressure on technology giants.
The Tagansky District Court ruled that Google repeatedly neglected to remove the banned content, and ordered the company to pay an administrative fine of about 7.2 billion rubles (about $98.4 million).
Google said it would study the court documents before deciding on its next steps.
Later Friday, the court also slapped a 1.9 billion ruble ($27.2 million) administrative fine on Meta for failure to remove banned content.
Russian authorities have steadily ramped up pressure on social media platforms, accusing them of failing to purge content related to drug abuse, weapons and explosives. Earlier this year, authorities criticized tech companies for not deleting announcements about unsanctioned protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Russian courts previously imposed smaller fines on Google, Facebook and Twitter this year. The Moscow court’s Friday rulings marked the first time the size of the fine was calculated based on revenue.
Russian authorities also have demanded that foreign tech giants store the personal data of Russian citizens on servers in Russia, threatening them with fines or possible bans if they fail to comply.
Alexander Khinshtein, head of the committee on information policies in the lower house of Russian parliament, said the massive fine should send a clear message to all IT giants.
He added that Russian law envisages other forms of punishment for failure to comply with court orders, including slowing down traffic and complete blocking.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding
ISRO Gears Up to Test Critical Parachute Safety of Gaganyaan
Indian students bag NASA awards for Human Exploration Rover Challenge
‘Mastering the Data Paradox’: Book uncovers pivotal role of data in AI age
Bitcoin’s latest ‘halving’ has arrived. Here’s what you need to know
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Bengaluru eateries butter up voter turnout with free dosa
Low voter turnout in Karnataka: Only 38.23% cast votes in 14 LS segments during first half of the day
Karnataka Polls: No Modi wave but anti-BJP wave, says CM Siddaramaiah
Cal HC directs NIA to file report on clashes in Murshidabad over Ram Navami celebrations
Bengaluru goes to poll amid heat wave-like situation