the Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications regulator, has announced that it will impose a record fine on the tech giant for not having deleted videos deemed illegal by the Kremlin. Russia is seeking to put pressure on the search engine to block the influx of information into the country.
The Kremlin wants to do away with Google. Russia has fined the search engine more than 361 million euros (21.1 billion rubles) for failing to remove content against the country’s new laws. In a July 18, 2022 press release, Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, says YouTube (owned by Google) failed to follow orders to remove videos ” promoting extremism and terrorism as well as allegedly false information about the invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has been harassing the tech giant for several months. Last December, Russia fined Google nearly 100 million euros for yet again failing to remove banned content, but things escalated after war was declared on Ukraine. Like many other tech companies, Google has cut off access to various services for its Russian customers, halting the delivery of ads on the search engine, demonetizing YouTube channels owned by Kremlin-backed Russian outlets, and banning access to these channels.
Google still present in Russia
Roskomnadzor first retaliated in March with the threat of a sanction for its failure to remove videos the body deemed “illegal”. The group’s Russian subsidiary finally filed for bankruptcy last month, after authorities seized its assets in the country, the equivalent of 123,000 euros.
The Kremlin is doing everything to block the flow of information into the country and has passed a law threatening up to 15 years in prison for people who spread “false” information about the invasion. However, unlike other Silicon Valley giants such as Facebook, Google has not been completely banned in Russia, where many smartphones are based on the American group’s interface.
Alphabet, the group’s parent company, said the decision to continue offering search services, maps and YouTube gave Russians access to different information and perspectives. The Kremlin hopes to put a stop to this freedom of expression with a fine of 21.1 billion rubles, which is the biggest sanction ever imposed on a technology company in Russia. Google has yet to comment.
