U.S.-based social-network giant Facebook was fined 26
million rubles ($353,000) by Moscow's Tagansky District Court on May 25. That
case involved eight reports about material posted on Facebook that Russian
authorities wanted Facebook to remove.
The same court on May 25 also levied three separate fines
totaling about $82,000 against the U.S. technology giant Google. The court said
Google was found guilty of "administrative offenses" and was ordered
to pay 2 million rubles -- or about $27,000 -- for each offense.
The charges concern posts that Russia says encouraged minors
to join unsanctioned protests in January, when people across the country took
to the streets to support Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny after he was detained.
The fines come amid a wider dispute between Moscow and
Google.
Russia's communications watchdog on May 24 threatened that
it could eventually slow down Google's Internet traffic in the country if it
fails to delete content that is prohibited by Russian authorities.
Russia has already imposed a punitive slowdown on the U.S.
social network Twitter for refusing to delete content banned by the Russian
government.
In April, a court issued three separate fines against
Twitter totaling about $120,000 over accusations it had failed to delete banned
content.
TikTok has was fined for similar offenses this year.
Moscow claims it is trying to rein in Western tech giants
and bolster what it calls its Internet "sovereignty."
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP