Google hit with $100 million fine in Russia for ‘systematic failure to remove banned content’

MOSCOW — A Russian tribunal fined Google astir $100 cardinal Friday for “systematic nonaccomplishment to region banned content” — the largest specified punishment yet successful the state arsenic Moscow attempts to rein successful Western tech giants.

The good was calculated based connected Google’s yearly revenue, the tribunal said. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Internet regulator, told the tribunal that Google’s 2020 turnover successful the state exceeded 85 cardinal rubles, oregon astir $1.15 billion.

The good represents an escalation successful Russia’s propulsion to unit overseas tech firms to comply with its progressively strict rules connected what it deems amerciable contented — peculiarly apps, websites, posts and videos related to jailed absorption person Alexei Navalny’s network, which has been labeled arsenic extremist successful the country.

Google’s property work said it would survey the tribunal documents past determine connected adjacent steps, specified arsenic if it volition entreaty the decision.

Google and different tech companies, specified arsenic Facebook genitor institution Meta and Twitter, are habitually fined successful Russia. But those penalties person seldom exceeded $1 million.

During his end-of-year quality league Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia “will proceed insisting that our associated enactment with planetary web platforms volition beryllium successful enactment with the Russian laws.”

He added that Moscow would alternatively not edifice to a postulation slowdown oregon all-out artifact of a definite Internet institution oregon societal network, but “if we are forced into it, we volition beryllium forced to up our demands successful respect to everyone who works with specified issues and ignores interests of the Russian society.”

Digital rights activists person blasted a determination by Russian authorities to obligate overseas tech firms to unfastened section offices starting Jan. 1, fearing that those subsidiaries tin beryllium utilized to unit companies into Internet censorship.

Such a concern occurred successful September, erstwhile Navalny’s Smart Voting app, which directed Russians however to ballot successful absorption of Putin during parliamentary elections, disappeared from Apple and Google’s online stores. A idiosyncratic with cognition of the situation, who spoke connected the information of anonymity for fearfulness of angering the Russian government, told The Washington Post astatine the time that Google received nonstop threats against unit located successful the state from Russian authorities.

Moscow besides ramped up the unit connected Twitter earlier this year, slowing down the velocity of the web successful March successful retaliation for what Russia said were contented violations.