A Moscow court ruled on Friday to fine Alphabet-owned Google 7.2 billion rubles (or $98 million) for the platform’s repeated refusal to delete content that Russia deems illegal on first fine of this nature in the country.
Moscow has increased pressure on big tech companies this year in a campaign that critics say is an attempt to exert tighter control over the Internet, something that would threaten individual and corporate freedoms.
Google said in an email that it would study the court’s decision before taking further action.
Later on Friday, the court fined the Target 2 billion rubles ($27.15 million) for the same reasons.
Russia’s communications observatory, Roskomnadzor, said Facebook and Instagram have not committed to removing 2,000 pieces that violate Russian law, while Google keeps 2,600 banned content in its custody.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia has imposed small fines on foreign technology companies this year, but this Friday’s penalties mark the first time it has been levied on a significant percentage of companies’ annual revenues in the country, greatly increasing the amount of the fine.
The percentages were not specified, although Reuters calculations show that the fine imposed on Google amounts to just over 8% of the company’s turnover in Russia.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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