A Russian court on Thursday fined Meta’s WhatsApp, Snapchat owner Snap Inc and other foreign companies for their alleged refusal to store Russian user data internally, news outlets reported.
Moscow has clashed with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation in disputes that have escalated since Russia sent its armed forces to Ukraine on Feb.
The Tagansky District Court in Moscow fined WhatsApp 18 million rubles (about R$1.5 million), Tinder Match Group 2 million rubles (about R$170,000) and Snap and Hotels. com, owned by Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O, at 1 million rubles (about R$85,000), news agencies reported. WhatsApp was fined for the same offense last August.
Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.
RIA news agency quoted a lawyer from Hotels.com as saying the company did not recognize the charge as an offense, adding that the company has stopped processing any user data from Russia since April 1.
Russia restricted access to the main platforms of Meta, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the social network Twitter, shortly after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, a move that critics launched as an effort by Russia to exert greater control over the flows of information.
Meta was found guilty of “extremist activity” in Russia and saw an appeal against the tag rejected in June, but Moscow allowed WhatsApp to remain available.
According to the decision, when referring to Meta in the public sphere, organizations and individuals are required to include the notice that Meta’s activities are prohibited on Russian territory.
Microsoft’s LinkedIn has been blocked in Russia for years after a court found it violated the data storage rule passed in 2015.
Source: CNN Brasil
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