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A Moscow court on Friday struck Google with an unprecedented fine of nearly $ 100 million, and Meta (formerly Facebook) received a $ 27 million fine.
In recent years Russia has been putting pressure on Western social media, with President Vladimir Putin claiming that those companies are gaining momentum as elected governments.
Moscow has repeatedly taken legal action over allegations that it failed to properly monitor its content and intervened in national affairs.
But so far the fines for the parent company Facebook Meta and Google have reached tens of millions of rubles, not billions.
However, on Friday a Moscow court fined Google a record $ 7.2 billion ($ 98 billion), while Meta (formerly Facebook) was fined $ 1.9 billion ($ 27 million). ) by repeatedly failing to delete illegal content.
"For the first time, a Russian court has imposed fines that form part of the companies' annual revenue for Russia," Russia's communications director Roskomnadzor said in a statement.
The administrator said Google and Meta "ignored most of the demands" to remove items that promote religious hatred and promote ideas for "violent and terrorist organizations", among other violations.
Over the past few years, the Russian government has used the excuse of child protection and extremism to eliminate dissent and control the Russian web.
It has also begun to make the so-called sovereign internet unable to operate independently.
Critics of the Kremlin have blamed the authorities for disrupting the private sector, saying the government now has access to the Internet, which is considered the ultimate basis for free speech in Russia.
Western media giants have denied any wrongdoing in the past.
"We will read the court papers and decide on the next steps," Google told AFP on Friday. No instant comments from Meta.
On Thursday, Twitter was handed its latest fine of three million rubles ($ 40,000) after authorities began operating in the spring.
Penalties and threats
Ahead of the September parliamentary elections, the Russian news dog blocked a number of websites linked to Kremlin detective Alexei Navalny, whose organizations are banned in Russia as "dangerous".
The administrator also ordered Google and Apple to remove the app dedicated to Navalny's "Smart Voting" campaign which urged fans to vote for a reduction in Kremlin-affiliated politicians.
Silicon Valley thugs did just that, sources told AFP that the decision came after authorities threatened to arrest local workers.
Russia's media director also blocked a number of websites linked to Navalny.
During protests in support of Navalny last winter, Russian authorities accused platforms including YouTube and Google Twitter for interfering in Russian domestic affairs by not deleting posts asking people to join the rallies.
Putin at the time lamented that major technology companies were competing with the provinces.
Russia has already blocked several websites that have refused to cooperate with authorities, such as the Daimation video and LinkedIn.
As part of a broader effort to divert foreign communication platforms under its control, Russia in September shut down six major VPN providers including Nord VPN and Express VPN.
Russia has also introduced a new law requiring smartphones, computers, and other gadgets sold in the country to bring home-based software and applications.
Source- NDTV
