A Moscow court docket fined Google on Tuesday for failing to take away content material banned in Russia, information businesses reported, the newest in a collection of escalating penalties in opposition to the US tech big.

Russia in latest months has been taking authorized motion in opposition to international tech corporations for not deleting content material banned by the authorities, together with pornographic materials or posts deemed extremist or condoning medication or suicide.

On Tuesday the Tagansky district court docket slapped Google with 5 separate fines totalling RUB 14 million (roughly Rs. 1.4 crores) for the violation, the RIA Novosti information company reported, citing the court docket’s press service.

The US firm was fined RUB 6 million (roughly Rs. 60.7 lakhs) for a similar cost on the finish of May and three million rubles in December. 

Russia routinely fines Western tech corporations for failing to adjust to its laws.

Last month the Tagansky district court docket discovered Google responsible of breaching information localisation legal guidelines and fined the corporate three million rubles. 

It was the primary time the US firm was penalised for violating the controversial regulation handed in 2014 that requires the private information of Russian customers to be saved inside Russia.

But Moscow has ramped up the strain on international social media corporations in latest months particularly after accusing them final winter of not eradicating posts calling for minors to hitch protests in assist of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Facebook has been handed fines for failing to take away unlawful content material, whereas Twitter has had its service speeds in Russia throttled. 

In latest years, the Russian authorities has additionally been tightening management over the web underneath the pretext of preventing extremism and defending minors.

But authorities critics have denounced official oversight of the net as a method to stifle debate and silence dissent.

© Thomson Reuters 2021