Caymans Post

A world within. A state apart.
Saturday, Apr 20, 2024

Russia hits Google with record fine

Russia hits Google with record fine

The landmark legal decision comes amid a growing row over the US tech giant's failure to remove illegal material online.
A court in Moscow has fined Google 7.2 billion rubles (around $98.1 million) for repeatedly failing to take down banned content. The decision marks the first time an IT company has faced financial penalties based on the scale of their turnover in Russia.

On Friday, a judge at Moscow’s Tagansky District Court found the internet conglomerate guilty of “committing administrative offenses,” and “a penalty in the form of an administrative fine of 7.2 billion rubles was imposed,” its press service said in a statement.

A turnover fine is the strictest punishment under the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses and is imposed for repeated violations. Prior to this, Google and other social networks were fined on a case-by-case basis for breaching Russian law, with penalties not linked to their earnings.

Responding to the decision, Google said in a statement that “we will study the court ruling and then determine our next steps.”

The landmark ruling comes amid a standoff between the American tech giant and Moscow’s media regulators. In October, online watchdog Roskomnadzor said it would seek to fine the company for repeatedly refusing to take action over content it has flagged as illegal, and that damages could amount to between 5-20% of Google’s Russian revenues.

Last year, Google’s turnover in the country totaled 85.5 billion rubles ($1.2 billion), according to the SPARK business database.

Roskomnadzor has also warned that the company had not paid $458,100 (32.5 million rubles) in penalties levied earlier this year. Google was also ordered to shell out after falling foul of legal requirements to store Russian users’ data on servers within the country, as opposed to sending it abroad.

In May, the regulator gave Google just 24 hours to take down prohibited content or be hit with further fines. Roskomnadzor said it had issued more than 26,000 calls to the company to remove videos including information on drugs, violence, or material from what Russia deems extremist organizations.

Moscow also warned that it could slow the tech giant’s traffic, hitting its ability to return rapid search results for users in the world’s largest country.

Moscow has announced that it is taking steps to assert more control over social media networks operating in the country, as well as expanding its own internet infrastructure to be independent from the rest of the web. The country has invested in the development of its domestic online infrastructure in recent years, which is hoped to allow its internet to function autonomously in the event of a crisis or in the face of severe sanctions.

Unlike many other nations, Russia has a widely-used domestic rival to Google, Yandex. In 2016, Google narrowly overtook its competitor, reaching 20.5 million Russian users per month versus 20.4 million.

However, in terms of daily usage, Yandex came in first place with 12.3 million users, with Google coming third and attracting 11 million. The Moscow-based firm now offers everything from a search engine to music streaming, food delivery, and taxi hire.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Caymans Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×