As part of a wider crackdown by Russia on the internet and Big Tech, a Russian court has fined U.S. social media companies Facebook and Twitter for failing to delete content that Moscow deems illegal.
According to reports, the Tagansky district court handed Facebook five fines totalling 21 million roubles ($287,850). Twitter received two fines of a total 5 million roubles, it said.
Also, the court said popular messaging app Telegram had been fined 9 million roubles.
Reports said Moscow’s actions to strengthen its control of the internet have included a push to require foreign internet companies to open fully-fledged offices in Russia and to store Russians’ personal data on its territory.
In a latest development, the government published plans to impose new taxes on foreign-owned digital services, a move aimed at supporting its domestic tech sector.
It would be recalled that in March, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor started impeding the speed of Twitter for not removing banned material quickly enough.
In recent months, Moscow courts have fined Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, and TikTok over content, as well as for refusing to localize the personal data of its users in Russia.
Official records have it that the total fines Moscow courts have ordered Facebook to pay since January now surpass 90 million rubles ($1.23 million), while the total amount of fines Telegram and Twitter are obliged to pay are 40 million rubles ($550,000) and 60 million rubles ($822,700), respectively.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused social-media and other tech giants of flouting the country’s Internet laws, including a push seeking to force foreign firms to open offices in Russia.
