A court in Moscow has ordered Google to pay another fine, this time 5 million rubles ($67,600), for violating the country’s rules on banned content.
The magistrate court of the Taganka district in the Russian capital handed down the decision on December 7, saying that Google had failed to delete banned content as instructed.
Later in the day, the court is expected to rule on three more protocols filed against Google that could see combined fines of up to 16 million rubles (almost $216,300) levied against the company.
In recent months, Russian courts have ordered Google to pay fines totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars for failing to delete banned content on its search engine and YouTube content.
Russian courts have also fined Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, and TikTok on similar charges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused social media platforms and other tech giants of flouting the country's Internet laws, including a push seeking to force foreign firms to open offices in Russia and store Russians' personal data on its territory.
Many critics say the push has nothing to do with "Internet integrity" and instead accuse the authorities of trying to quell dissent.
Moscow Court Orders Google To Pay More Fines For Failing To Delete Content
In recent months, Russian courts have ordered Google to pay fines totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars for failing to delete content banned by the authorities. (file photo)