Considered Spreading Misleading Information, Google Fines 5-10 Percent Of Its Turnover In Russia

Google faces repeated fines in Russia (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Alphabet's Google may face a fine of 5-10% of its turnover in Russia because of what the country's communications regulator said Wednesday, June 22, was its repeated failure to remove banned content. This includes "misleading information" on YouTube about events in Ukraine.

This is the second fine based on turnover percentage that Google could face from Russia. In May, Russian bailiffs confiscated more than 7.7 billion rubles (IDR 2.1 trillion) from Google that had been ordered to be paid late last year. This marks the first time Moscow has asked for a fine of a percentage of the annual turnover of companies operating in Russia.

Google, whose Russian subsidiary last week filed for bankruptcy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

"The video hosting site YouTube deliberately promotes the dissemination of misleading information about the progress of special military operations in Ukraine, discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation," regulator Roskomnadzor said, as quoted by Reuters.

According to Roskomnadzor repeated violations can lead to a fine of 5-10% of the annual turnover in Russia, with the amount to be determined in court. Reuters calculated that the previous fine was equivalent to more than 8% of turnover.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24, saying it must defuse threats to its security and protect Russian-speakers from persecution in Ukraine. This military operation is called by Moscow as a "special military operation".

Meanwhile, Ukraine has stated that it is fighting illegal land grabs by Russia.

Roskomnadzor also said YouTube had allowed content that promoted extremist views and called for children to participate in unlawful protests.

The regulator said Google had now been fined a total of 68 million rubles ($5 million), excluding turnover fines, and more than 7.000 items banned from remaining on YouTube.

Russia has restricted access to major social networks Twitter and Meta Platforms Facebook and Instagram, but has not blocked Google.

A member of the State Duma last week said YouTube and Google had not "crossed the line" but were engaged in an information war against Russia.

Russia has issued numerous fines to foreign technology companies in recent years for various offences, in what critics say is an attempt to exert greater control over the internet.