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Google Faces $365M Fine From Russia Over Ukraine Info Violations

This isn't the first time Russia has leveled a fine at Google over content about the war.

Imad Khan Senior Reporter
Imad is a senior reporter covering Google and internet culture. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN, Tom's Guide and Wired, among others.
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Russian and Ukrainian flags on phones and laptops

Russia fines Google for not removing information about the war in Ukraine.

 James Martin/CNET

A Russian court fined Google 21 billion rubles ($365 million) for failing to remove prohibited content about the war in Ukraine, Roskomnadzor, the country's telecommunications regulator, said Monday. The fine was earlier reported by The Moscow Times.

This story is part of War in Ukraine, CNET's coverage of events there and of the wider effects on the world.

Roskomnadzor said the fines resulted from Google-owned YouTube's repeated failures to remove what it called "fakes about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation," according to Reuters. (Russia refers to the war as a "special military operation.") The agency also said that YouTube was promoting extremist views and telling people to protest. The fine is based on Google's annual revenue in Russia.

Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Google services, including Search and Maps, continue to remain available in the country even though the company's Russian unit filed for bankruptcy last month. The search giant has pulled advertising from Russia, cutting ad revenue from YouTube and other services. The company suspended billing on the Play Store and its mobile app store and will no longer accept Cloud customers. YouTube also banned videos that made light of Russia's invasion. 

This isn't the first fine Google has received from Russia. It was fined $260,000 last month for not localizing data within the country.

Amazon, as well as a host of other tech companies, has pulled out of the Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia banned Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram under its extremism law. The ongoing pressure campaign from Western countries and companies is meant to isolate and punish Russia economically for its bombardment of Ukraine. The war is entering its fifth month with a reported 5,024 Ukrainians killed.