A Russian court levied a RUB 7.2 billion (USD 98 million) fine against Google on 24 December for what it claims are repeated failures to delete content the country has deemed illegal, according to Endgadget. Though Russia has tagged numerous technology companies throughout the year with fines for not following its internet content rules, the judgement marks the first time that the court has imposed fines based on a company's annual revenue, the portal said.
Additionally, the Russian court has fined Meta and subsidiary Instagram) RUB 2 billion (USD 27.15 million) for similar offences. Meta is accused of failing to remove around 2,000 banned items while Google had reportedly failed to take down 2,600 bits of illicit content. They include posts promoting drug use or dangerous behaviour, instructions for making improvised weapons and explosives, as well as anything regarding what and it designates as extremists or terrorists, as well as spreading of "gay propaganda," said Endgadget.
Google has announced that it will review the court documents before deciding how to proceed. The company has ten days to file an appeal.
This ruling is the latest in Moscow's attempts to exert greater degrees of control over its national network and the internet as a whole and sets up an even larger confrontation come 01 January, said Endgadget, when Russian authorities have demanded technology companies set up local servers for their online services.
