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A Moscow court has fined Google 21.1 billion roubles (roughly $373 million) for failing to remove banned videos from YouTube in Russia. The videos in question showed the country’s “military operations” in Ukraine in a bad light. Russian regulatory watchdog had previously threatened to fine the company if it didn’t comply with the government’s orders.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year prompted widespread criticism across the world. Several global companies suspended or terminated their operations in the country. Governments also announced sanctions to isolate the world’s largest country from the rest of the world. Among other things, YouTube blocked access to Russia’s state-controlled media in Europe.
Russia also retaliated by blocking several social media platforms in the country, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. While access to YouTube was not restricted, the country ordered Google to remove certain videos that spread “fake news” about the conflict in Ukraine. The company didn’t comply even after repeated reminders. As such, the Tagansky District Court of Moscow has now slapped it with a hefty fine.
“YouTube had not deleted fakes about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation,” a Reuters report cites Russian regulator Roskomnadzor as saying regarding the fine on Google. The platform also reportedly hosted videos that promoted “extremist views and calls for children to participate in unauthorized protests.”
According to the report, the court calculated the fine as a share of Google’s annual turnover in Russia. The bank account of the company’s Russian unit has also been seized, making it impossible for the tech giant to pay salaries to its staff. Since the sanctions don’t allow it to transfer funds from other countries to Russia, it has filed for bankruptcy.
Russia fined Google last year as well
This is the second such multi-million-dollar fine that Russia has hit Google with over the past few months. In December last year, a Moscow court fined the company 7.2 billion roubles (over $130 million at the current exchange rate) for a similar crime: repeated failure to remove content that the government deems illegal. It was the first revenue-based fine for the tech giant in the country.
Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of a Russian parliamentary committee, said Google has shown a demonstrative disregard for the country’s law. The company is now understandably paying the price for it. If this behavior continues, then Google “risks losing the Russian market altogether,” Gorelkin said.