MOSCOW – On Tuesday, a Russian court fined Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) unit Google 8 billion roubles ($77.9 million) for not complying with previous penalty orders, the Moscow courts press service said on Telegram.
For several years, Russia has ordered foreign technology platforms to remove content it deems illegal, issuing small but persistent fines when it sees failures to comply. Tuesday’s fine marked a significant increase in fines of around 4 million roubles usually levied.
Google did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Chertanovo District Court in Moscow issued a fine on Tuesday for Google’s failure to comply with an administrative punishment. The court did not specify which administrative offense the fine related to.
YouTube has drawn particular ire for hosting content Moscow objects to. According to Google data, the video platform used to attract around 50 million daily users in Russia, but those numbers have dropped to around 12 million.
Critics accuse the Russian authorities of deliberately disrupting YouTube’s download speeds to prevent Russians from viewing content there that is opposed to President Vladimir Putin and his government.
Russia denies that, saying the issues are caused by Google’s failure to upgrade equipment – a charge disputed by the company and technology experts.
In December, Putin accused Google of being a tool used by the U.S. government to score political points.
($1 = 102.7000 roubles)
