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On July 18, a Russian court sentenced Google to a record fine of 21 billion rubles (363 million euros) for content denouncing the offensive in Ukraine. But the American giant will surely not pay this fine.
Google has just been fined a record 363 million euros by a Russian court © Getty Images
A Moscow court has just sentenced Google to a fine of 21 billion rubles, the equivalent of 363 million euros. In question, the non-deletion of YouTube videos going against Russian laws.
Russia’s information technology and media regulator (Roskomnadzor) said YouTube failed to follow orders to remove “prohibited content […] promoting extremism and terrorism“. Specifically, YouTube did not remove “false about the conduct of the special military operation in Ukraine, discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation“.
Already last December, Russia fined Google 87 million euros for failing to remove banned content. Relations between the Kremlin and the major digital groups then deteriorated with the war in Ukraine. In March, the Russian telecoms policeman restricted access to Google News and threatened YouTube. Finally, after losing access to its bank accounts, Google’s Russian subsidiary officially filed for bankruptcy last month.
Industry expert Vladimir Zykov, however, explains that the Russian authorities can inflict on Google “as many fines as they want, they won’t get any moneyIndeed, with the American giant having ceased its activities in the region, it is unlikely that Google will fulfill this record sanction for a high-tech company in Russia.