Russia fines Google $206M for unpaid penalties

MOSCOW

Moscow fined US tech firm Google some 16 billion Russian rubles (about $209.6 million) for repeatedly failing to pay previous penalties, according to a new ruling announced on Friday.

The Nagorny district court in Moscow ruled against Google for failing to comply with previous court orders to remove prohibited content, as well as for failing to localize Russian users' personal data on domestic servers, according to multiple local media reports.

This penalty adds to a mounting pile of legal and financial pressure by Moscow on foreign tech platforms.

On Wednesday, a Moscow district court fined Google an additional 22.8 million rubles ($294.8 million) for distributing virtual private network (VPN) services via the Google Play Store, according to the state-owned news agency TASS.

Google ignored multiple orders to remove apps and ads, allowing users to bypass state restrictions when accessing the internet, as per Russia’s state media regulator, Roskomnadzor.

Russian citizens find it increasingly more difficult to access blocked Western social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

VPNs have become crucial to accessing these websites in Russia.

Google has faced a series of staggering but symbolic fines from Moscow in recent years.

Earlier, Moscow fined Telegram some 7 million rubles ($90,524) for refusing to remove ads and what it described as LGBT content on Wednesday amid the state’s ongoing crackdown on queer people.

On Feb. 19, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled an extraordinary fine of 91.5 quintillion rubles ($1.2 quintillion) to Google, some 1 million times larger than the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The penalty was imposed, reportedly due to a 2020 lawsuit over YouTube restricting pro-Kremlin channels.

Google suspended most of its operations in Russia after the war in Ukraine broke out five years ago.

Google’s Russian subsidiary declared bankruptcy in 2022 and ceased all commercial activities by Oct. 2023.

Free services like Google Search and YouTube are still accessible in Russia despite the regulatory battles, while Moscow has intentionally throttled internet bandwidth to restrict or discourage access to YouTube.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul