As of January 3, reports from London indicate that fines levied by Russian courts against major tech firms, including Alphabet’s Google and YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram, have been effectively resolved. Recent checks of the state bailiffs’ database in Russia reveal that these companies are no longer listed as having outstanding debts.
However, an examination of the same database on Wednesday shows that X (previously known as Twitter) and Twitch remain on the list of debtors. The fines against X amount to 51 million roubles (approximately $560,730), while those against Twitch sum up to 23 million roubles (around $252,879).
Requests for comments from Google, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram have not received immediate responses. Similarly, attempts to contact the state bailiffs for their input were not successful at the moment.
Russia has been engaged in ongoing conflicts with international tech companies. The disputes stem from what Russia perceives as the spread of prohibited content and the companies’ non-compliance with local data storage laws. These tensions have escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In the wake of the invasion, access to Twitter, as well as Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, was restricted within Russia. Additionally, YouTube, owned by Google, has faced significant scrutiny and pressure from Russian authorities.
Toward the end of 2023, a court in Russia levied a substantial fine on Google. The fine amounted to 4.6 billion roubles, equivalent to around $50.4 million. This penalty was determined based on a percentage of Google’s yearly revenue in Russia. Additionally, Meta, which faced the designation of ‘extremist’ by Russian authorities in 2022, has incurred similar financial penalties, calculated as a portion of its revenue from Russian operations.
The current exchange rate stands at 1 US dollar being equal to 91.2575 roubles.
Source: Reuters