Russia's communications regulator wants Google to pay for breaking the country's law.
Roskomnadzor recently imposed a nearly $358 million fine on Google's Russian subsidiary for failing to heed its warnings and delete YouTube videos deemed "prohibited content" that goes against Russia's laws.
The search engine giant's Russian subsidiary previously filed for bankruptcy after the Russian government took over its assets in mid-May due to the company's continuous refusal to restore Russian state-owned media's YouTube channels.
Facts On Russia's $358 Million Fine Against Google
Russia's communications regulator released an announcement that a court in Moscow has imposed a nearly $358 million fine (or 21 billion rubles) on the search engine giant for not restricting a number of "material" on its video-sharing platform, YouTube, containing prohibited content within the grace period given to it, per Bleeping Computer.
These materials include videos that promote extremism and terrorism and an indifferent attitude to life and health of minors. Videos that have information with appeals to people regardless of their age to participate in unauthorized mass actions, "fakes about the course of the ongoing 'special military operation' in Ukraine" and those that discredit Russia's armed forces are also part of Russia's prohibited list.
The fine is said to be allegedly calculated based on the company's annual Russian turnover.
Furthermore, Roskomnadzor said that Google and its information resources are "regulaly held administratively liable" for violations of Russian law should the company fail to remove videos that contain prohibited content.
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It also has totaled Google's fines for its offenses, saying that it exceeds 7.2 billion rubles or around $128 million, with 68 million rubles from the 7.2 billion for offenses that violate Russian laws under Part 2 and Part 4 of Art. 13.41 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation while the remaining rubles are for the turnover fine for a repeated offense.
Roskomnadzor's fine wasn't a surprise to Google. You may remember that the Russian communications regulator threatened to charge Google for not removing videos on YouTube with prohibited content in March, with the fee starting at 8 million rubles, which could climb to 20% of the company's annual revenue, per The Verge.
However, Google's Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy in mid-May due to the Russian government seizing its assets, especially its bank account, for refusing or failing to restore Russian-state-controlled media's YouTube channels.
"Our policies prohibit content denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events, including Russia's [illegal activities] in Ukraine," Google said, per The Moscow Times.
Due to the bankruptcy filing and the $365 million fine being a sizable chunk of Google'sannual revenue, it is unclear if Google will pay the fines ordered by Roskomnadzor.
Even if Roskomnadzor's fine is paid or not, Russia is not looking forward to blocking YouTube due to its popularity in the country.
Google's Current Status In Russia
Despite the bankruptcy, Google LLC's non-paid services in Russia are still accessible, although with some restrictions involved.
Additionally, people in Russia can still use Google's free services such as Google search, Gmail, Maps, Android, and Play, aside from YouTube.
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