Russia has issued multiple fines to foreign technology
companies in recent years over a range of infringements, in what critics say is
Moscow's attempt to exert greater control over the internet.
Google declined to comment.
Russia has restricted access to Twitter and Meta's flagship
social networks, Facebook and Instagram, but Google and its YouTube video
hosting service, though under pressure, remain available for now. Moscow
particularly objects to YouTube's treatment of Russian media, which it has
blocked. But Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on
information policy, said the U.S. company was not yet at risk of meeting the
same fate.
"Blocking is an extreme measure, and YouTube and Google
have not crossed this line of reasonableness, but they are involved in the
information war against Russia," Gorelkin told reporters at the St
Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Moscow's Tagansky District Court said it had imposed the
fine for what it described as Google's repeated failure to store the personal
data of Russian users in databases on Russian territory. Google moved some
employees out of Russia after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in late February.
Photo-sharing application LikeMe was fined RUB 1.5 million
for a first-time offence. LikeMe could not be reached for comment. Google's
ability to pay could be hampered as its Russian subsidiary announced plans to
file for bankruptcy in May after authorities seized its bank account.
Gorelkin said Google could not be a global leader without operations in China and pointed to Yandex, often referred to as Russia's answer to Google, as a viable competitor. "I am certain that Google will stay in Russia if it does not cross the line," he said.
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