Russia fines Google 3 million roubles for not deleting banned content

The logo for Google LLC is seen at their office in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) – A Moscow court fined Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL.O) Google 3 million roubles ($40,400) on Monday for not deleting content that it deemed illegal, part of a wider dispute between Russia and the U.S. tech giant.

Russia in October threatened to fine Google a percentage of its annual Russian turnover for repeatedly failing to delete banned content on its search engine and YouTube, in Moscow’s strongest move yet to rein in foreign tech firms. read more

Google, which last month said it had paid more than 32 million roubles in fines, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. read more

Russia has issued several small fines to U.S. tech companies this year. State communications regulator Roskomnadzor has slowed down the speed of Twitter (TWTR.N) since March and has told Reuters it will not lift the restrictions on mobile devices until all illegal content is removed. read more

(This story corrects dollar conversion in first paragraph)