Moscow Court Again Fines Twitter And GitHub For Failing To Remove Prohibited Content

Moscow has stepped up the pressure on Big Tech this year. (photo credit: pixabay)

JAKARTA – A Moscow court on Thursday, December 23, said it had fined Twitter 3 million rubles (Rp 580 million) for failing to remove content deemed illegal by the Russian government. This decision is the latest in a series of penalties against foreign technology companies in the red bear country.

Moscow has stepped up pressure on Big Tech this year in a campaign that critics have characterized as an attempt by Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the country's internet. They call the uncontrolled internet has threatened the freedom of individuals and companies in Russia.

Twitter has denied allowing its platform to be used to promote illegal behavior. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the court's decision.

Moscow's Tagansky District Court said Twitter had been fined 3 million rubles for failing to remove banned content.

The court later said the software development site GitHub, which Microsoft bought, had also been fined 1 million rubles for the same offence. San Francisco-based GitHub did not immediately respond to a request for comment.