Russian authorities on Thursday warned social media big Facebook it faces a wonderful of as much as 10 % of its annual turnover within the nation except it fails to delete content material Moscow deems unlawful.

Upping the ante in its standoff with US Big Tech, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor advised Reuters it was planning to ship Facebook’s representatives in Russia an official notification saying it had repeatedly did not take away banned data.

That, it mentioned, might result in a wonderful of 5 % or 10 % of Facebook’s annual Russian turnover except the state of affairs is remedied.

Facebook’s violations embody failing to take away posts containing youngster pornography, drug abuse, and extremist content material, the Vedomosti each day reported individually.

Facebook had no fast remark.

Moscow has elevated strain on international tech firms over the past yr as a part of a long-running push to say larger sovereignty over its section of the web, together with efforts to make firms retailer Russians’ private knowledge on its territory.

On Wednesday, Russia threatened to dam YouTube, owned by Alphabet, after the video-hosting big eliminated Russian state-backed broadcaster RT’s German-language channels from its web site.

Earlier this yr, Roskomnadzor wrote to Facebook and different social media companies demanding they take away posts containing requires minors to take part in anti-government protests after the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Vedomosti cited specialists who estimated Facebook’s annual Russian turnover at round RUB 12 billion (roughly Rs. 1,220 crores).

Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm that estimate.

Roskomnadzor has opened 17 completely different administrative circumstances towards Facebook this yr for failing to delete banned content material, court docket paperwork confirmed, with 64 million roubles owed in fines or pending.

A turnover wonderful would dwarf these levied to this point.

“Facebook’s administration has not paid the fines,” Vedomosti cited Roskomnadzor as saying.

© Thomson Reuters 2021