Russia continues to take action against large foreign technology companies.

A court in Moscow fined Twitter, Facebook parent Meta Platforms and TikTok on Thursday for not deleting illegal content.

Meta will pay 13 million rubles (the equivalent of about 157,000 euros), Twitter 10 million rubles and TikTok Russian agency reports say 4 million rubles.

All three companies did not initially comment on the penalties.

The Russian government this year increased the pressure on technology companies to gain more control over what is happening on the Internet.

The authorities accuse the companies of insufficiently complying with Russian law.

In March, for example, the use of Twitter was slowed down.

The short message service and other US platforms are often used in Russia by supporters of the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny.

Further lawsuits are pending against Meta and Google, and a judgment is expected this month.

In Russia, fines of 5 to 10 percent of annual sales are possible for repeated violations.

The Russian government has also asked 13 technology companies to settle in Russia by January 1st, otherwise restrictions or bans threaten.

Mainly US corporations are on the list, including the three punished on Thursday.