Russia fines Google 87 million euros for banned content

A Russian court fined Google yesterday 7.2 billion rubles (87 million euros) for failing to delete “prohibited” content, amid mounting sanctions against digital companies in Russia.

And the media office of the Moscow Courts announced in its account on Telegram that Google had been convicted of “recidivism” against the background of the giant American company’s failure to remove from its platforms content classified by Russia as prohibited.

Russia usually imposes sanctions on major digital companies, accusing them of failing to remove content that promotes drugs, suicide and other opposition-related content.

In September, just before the legislative elections, Moscow forced Apple and Google, which are accused of "interfering in the elections", to remove the app of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny from their online stores in Russia.

The authorities are working on developing a "sovereign Internet" system that, once completed, will enable them to isolate the Russian network by separating it from major global servers.

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