Russia fined Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram up to 4 million rubles (R793 062,08) for each due to their failure to remove prohibited information, based on protocols prepared by the Russian mass media and telecom watchdog, Tass reported.
Russia imposes fines against social networks
“The court received two protocols each for Twitter and Facebook, prepared under Part 2, Article 13.41 of the Russian Administrative Offenses Code [failure to remove information or Internet page if Russian legislation stipulates responsibility for removing it] and three protocols against each Google and Telegram under the same Article,” the Court told Tass on Monday.
According to Tass, the 422nd Section of the Justice of the Peace of Moscow fined Twitter 8.9 million (R176 3632,64) under three protocols for the refusal to delete information calling for underage individuals to participate in unlawful actions. Similar protocols were also prepared against Facebook, Google, Telegram, and TikTok.
Russia has been taking steps in recent months to regulate sharing of information, to prevent foreign countries from meddling in the country’s affairs, by imposing service slowdowns and a plethora of fines against uncomplying parties.
Protests for detained Kremlin critic
Google was fined last month over posts that Russia alleges promoted unlawful behaviour of minors after the public came out in numbers to support Russian President critic Alexei Navalny after he was detained. Navalny was arrested for alleged money laundering, which he claims is illegitimate.
According to Global News, Navalny was poisoned by a deadly nerve agent called Novichok, which is the same one that was allegedly used to poison a Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018. Navalny blamed the Russian government for his poisoning and Putin denied these allegations.
Navalny’s arrest ignited protests in the nation and a lot of people were criticising the Russian President.