This is in concern to the Ukraine invasion. How ironic.
The war in Ukraine is still ongoing, and Russia still is pretty much salty that they’re not doing much progress. In Russia, Google was fined 1.1 billion rubles (~USD 375 million) for failing to remove any pro-Ukrainian articles that the country deems as fake news. Ironic for a country that spreads propaganda surrounding the war and arrests those who are against the government’s decisions.
The country’s telecommunications arm, Roskomnadzor also accused that Google is discrediting the Armed forces of Russia. The fine was calculated based on the company’s annual turnover in Russia but did not specify the percentage.
The telecommunications watchdog has warned Google last year that they could be fined from 5-10% if they did not oblige to local laws. Last December, the country has fined Google 7.2 billion rubles (~USD 98 million) for failing to remove illegal content as per the country’s own laws.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, of course, Google stepped in and took sanction measures such as prohibiting AdSense revenue for those who speak for Russia during the war, preventing the billing in the Play Store and YouTube for Russian users, and blocking state-run media such as RT.
Consequentially, the local government froze Google Russia’s financial accounts and the company had to file for bankruptcy protection. Google said it has moved its employees out of Moscow ever since the invasion began.
The country has not banned Google or Facebook but it does keep them heavily restricted. They are to remove content that is deemed “anti-Russia”.
Several companies has done measures during the invasion. Propaganda and fake news is quite prevalent and even TikTok had to step in. That’s quite a messed up situation if even TikTok, the library of fake news, has to step in.
Source: TechCrunch
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