Russia Again Fines IDR 504 Billion Google For Video Hosting Monopoly

JAKARTA - Russian competition watchdog again fined Alphabet's Google 2 billion rubles (IDR 504 billion) on Tuesday, July 26 for abusing its dominant position in the video hosting market.

The decision is the latest multimillion-dollar fine as part of Moscow's increasingly tough campaign against foreign technology companies.

Russia's Federal Antitrust Service (FAS) said Google had "abused its dominant position in the market for YouTube video hosting services", without providing additional details.

"We will study the text of the official decision to determine our next steps," Google said in a statement to Reuters.

"Google must pay the fine within two months of coming into effect," FAS said.

Russia has also penalized Google's Russian subsidiary with multiple fines in recent months. Last week a court ordered him to pay 21.1 billion rubles (IDR 5.3 trillion) for what prosecutors said was his repeated refusal to remove content deemed illegal by Russia, such as "fake news" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Since Moscow launched what it calls "special military operations" in Ukraine, it has also accelerated attacks on Western tech companies at home in a bid to exert more control over the online space. This includes supporting domestic players to overthrow their Western rivals.

Gazprom Media, the Russian media conglomerate linked to state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, has been heavily promoting RuTube, a Russian alternative to YouTube, which has seen a sharp increase in traffic since February.