Troubles continue to haunt the global technology giant Google. The latest comes as a 6.5 million roubles ($89,535) fine by a Moscow court for not deleting content that Russia deems illegal, part of a wider dispute between Moscow and the US tech major.
The magistrate court of Moscow’s Taganka district on September 29 ruled that Google must pay a total of 6.5 million rubles ($89,400) in two cases. Russia earlier threatened to block YouTube after Russian state-backed broadcaster RT’s German-language channels were deleted.
Court spokeswoman Zulfiya Gurinchuk said in a statement that the US technology giant is facing a similar charge in another case to be heard on November 8. In recent months, the same court has ordered Google to pay fines totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars over content, as well as for refusing to localize the personal data of its users in Russia.
Moscow courts have also fined Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, and TikTok on similar charges.
Previously the Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused social media platforms and other tech giants of flouting the country’s internet laws, including a push seeking to force foreign firms to open offices in Russia.
