Russian court fines Google almost $100M over content

A Moscow court fined Google nearly $100 million Friday over its failure to delete content banned by local law, a penalty that reflects Russian efforts to step up pressure on big technology companies.

The Tagansky District Court ruled that Google repeatedly neglected to remove the banned content and ordered the company to pay an administrative fine of about 7.2 billion rubles (about $98.4 million).

Google said it would study the court documents and then decide on its next steps.

Russian authorities have steadily ramped up pressure on social media platforms, accusing them of failing to purge content related to drug abuse, weapons and explosives. Earlier this year, the authorities blamed tech companies for not deleting announcements about unsanctioned protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Russian courts previously imposed smaller fines on Google, Facebook and Twitter this year. The Moscow court's Friday ruling marked the first time the size of the fine was calculated based on revenue.

Russian authorities also have demanded that foreign tech giants store the personal data of Russian citizens on servers in Russia, threatening them with fines or possible bans if they fail to comply.