Russia issues Google fine of $40,400

A court in Russia has Google a fine of 3 million Roubles ($40,400) for refusing to delete banned content, a move seen as part of a wider dispute between the country and the American tech giant.

In October, Russia had threatened to seize a good percentage of Google’s annual Russian turnover if it fails to delete banned content on its search engine and YouTube.

Only a few days ago, Italy’s Antitrust Authority hit Google and Apple with a fine of $11.2 million over ‘aggressive practices’ on users’ data.

Russia on the other hand has been ripping into US Tech companies this year hitting them with several small fines. Reports have it that Russia’s State communications regulator Roskomnadzor had slowed down the speed of Twitter since March and has reiterated that it will not lift the siege on mobile devices until unwanted content is removed.

For now, Google has not issued any statement regarding the fine.

European countries in recent years have been cracking down on Big Tech companies and their activities and there seems to be no respite in sight as the European Union (EU) seeks stricter legislations to tighten regulation.