Google Again Fined Russia For Repeated Mistakes, This Time A Fine Of IDR 5.5 Trillion

JAKARTA - Google Alphabet was again fined by the Russian government. This time they were fined 21.1 billion rubles (IDR 5.5 trillion) on Monday, July 18 by a Moscow court for repeated failures to remove content deemed illegal by Russia. According to Russia's communications regulator, Google continues to create "fake news" about the conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow has long objected to the distribution of foreign technology platform content that violates its limits. But the simmering dispute has erupted into full-fledged fighting since Moscow assembled its armed forces before sending them to Ukraine in February.

YouTube has also been the target of state anger, but, unlike Facebook and Instagram Twitter, and Meta Platforms, it has not been blocked.

The regulator, Roskomnadzor, said the Tagansky District Court had fined Google 21.1 billion rubles for repeatedly failing to restrict immediate access to banned material, and criticized YouTube in particular.

They noted that YouTube did not remove "falsehood about the course of special military operations in Ukraine, which discredits the armed forces of the Russian Federation".

He also said YouTube allowed content that promoted extremist views and called for children to participate in unlawful protests. Google, which can appeal the decision, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The fine is calculated as part of Google's annual turnover in Russia. Previously they had also been given a similar penalty of 7.2 billion rubles late last year.

The bank accounts of Google's Russia unit have also been confiscated, leaving a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. it was forced to file for bankruptcy because it was impossible to pay staff and vendors due to the freezing of the account.

Russia says it is carrying out "special military operations" in Ukraine to defuse threats to its security and protect Russian speakers from persecution.

Ukraine and its Western allies reject the accusations as a baseless pretext for illegal land grabs.

Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the parliamentary committee on information policy, said that Google showed indifference to Russian law.

"It is not difficult to predict what will happen with this attitude: Google risks losing the Russian market altogether," he wrote on Telegram, as quoted by Reuters.