Russia: Fines on Twitter, Meta and TikTok for banned content

Russia has imposed fines on Twitter, Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and TikTok, for failing to remove content from their platforms that the government considers illegal, a Moscow court has announced, the latest in a series of sanctions against foreign companies. technology.

Moscow has stepped up pressure on major information technology companies this year in a campaign that critics say is an attempt by Russian authorities to tighten control over the internet, which they say threatens to stifle individual and corporate freedom.

The Tagansky court in Moscow announced today that Meta Platforms was fined a total of 13 million rubles (156,187 euros) for three separate administrative cases for non-deletion of content. Twitter was fined 10 million rubles (120,201 euros) for two cases, while TikTok was fined 4 million rubles (48,080 euros), according to Russian news agencies.

Twitter, Facebook and TikTok did not comment immediately.

Meta, along with Alphabet Google, is facing a lawsuit later this month for suspected repeated breaches of Russian content law and could be fined a percentage of the company’s annual turnover in Russia.

Russia has been slowing down Twitter since March as a punitive measure for posts containing child pornography, substance abuse information or calls on minors to commit suicide, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor said.

Twitter denies allowing its use of the platform to promote prohibited content.

Moscow has also demanded that 13 foreign and mostly American information technology companies open offices in Russia by January 1, otherwise they will face possible restrictions or complete bans. All three companies that have been fined today are on this list.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ