Moscow Court Fines US Companies For Refusing To Store Data In Russia

Russia fines a US technology company for not wanting to store data in Russia. (photo; pixabay doc)

JAKARTA - A Moscow court on Tuesday, June 28 fined video streaming service Twitch, social network Pinterest, vacation rental company Airbnb and United Parcel Service (UPS). They were fined for allegedly refusing to store personal data of Russian citizens in Russia.

Moscow has been at loggerheads with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation in a heated dispute that has eventually become a full-blown battle since Russia sent its armed forces to Ukraine on February 24.

The Moscow court press service said Amazon, Pinterest and Airbnb's Twitch had been found guilty by the Tagansky District Court of violating Russian laws on personal data and fined 2 million rubles (Rp 552.6 million) each. While UPS was fined 1 million rubles (Rp 276.3 million).

A UPS spokesman said they were still reviewing the sentence. "We are reviewing the court's decision. As this review is ongoing, we cannot provide further information at this time," a UPS spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Twitch, Pinterest and Airbnb did not respond to requests for comment on the news.

Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor said in late May it had also opened an administrative case against another US tech giant, Apple.

“For first-time violations, the company can be fined 1-6 million rubles,” said a source at Roskomnadzor.

Earlier a Russian court had also fined Alphabet Inc's Google 15 million rubles (Rp 4.1 billion) this month for what it said was its repeated failure to comply with Russian laws on data retention. Russia previously also penalized Google of 3 million rubles last year.

Meanwhile, as a result of the fine, Google Russia, a subsidiary of Google, has filed for bankruptcy after the authorities confiscated its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors. They face another possible fine for the content.

Separately, the court said it had fined Canada-based storytelling platform Wattpad Corp. 1 million rubles for failing to remove content deemed illegal by Russia. Wattpad itself did not want to comment on the fine.