'Google will have to pay up': Russian court junks appeal against fine over 'fake' content on Ukraine war

A Russian court has upheld a 4.6 billion rouble ($49.4 million) fine imposed on Alphabet’s Google for its alleged failure to delete content deemed by Russia as ‘fake’ regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

Despite the decision, Google has refrained from immediate comment on the matter.

Tensions between Russia and foreign technology companies have escalated over issues including content moderation, censorship, data management, and local representation, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Moscow City Court affirmed the ruling of the Tagansky District Court, dismissing Google’s appeal, as announced by the Moscow courts’ press service on Wednesday via Telegram.

Previously, Russian news agencies indicated that the fine was also levied against Google for its purported negligence in removing extremist material and disseminating what Russia labels as LGBT propaganda.

Alphabet’s YouTube has been a particular target of the Russian state’s ire but, unlike Twitter and Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, it has not been blocked.

The fine, announced in late December, was calculated as a share of Google’s annual turnover in Russia. The company was handed similar turnover-based penalties of 7.2 billion roubles in late 2021 and 21.1 billion roubles in August 2022. In both cases its appeals were rejected.

With inputs from Reuters