Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regulator, has fined Google for failing to comply with a law that requires online search engines to purge any hyperlinks to materials that are banned in Russia.
Google has refused to connect to Federal State Information System (FGIS) where these websites are listed. The fine amounts to 500,000 rubles ($7,537 at today’s exchange rate), whereas the maximum fine for such violation is 700,000 rubles.
The measure was announced today by Roskomnadzor head of department, Alexander Zharov, as reported by the TASS news agency.
Zharov added that the agency will continue to monitor Google for compliance with Russian legislation
Tightening screws on the Internet
Last year, journalists at VC.ru noticed that Google and Yandex had started removing links to such websites from their search results, before Russia’s censorship law took effect.
In a separate matter, in June 2017, Roskomnadzor blocked access to Google for several hours to enforce a tax ruling made in 2016.
Amont the restrictive Internet laws adopted over the past few years in Russia are the obligation for messaging services to share encryption keys with security services (“Big Brother law“) and a personal data regulation that requires to store the data in servers that are physically located on Russian soil.
In spite of some high-profile cases (LinkedIn, Telegram), these laws have not been fully implemented so far. The authorities have even showed, for certain aspects, an unexpectedly mild approach.
But Russia now intends to tighten screws, introducing stiffer fines in case of non compliance, according to “sources familiar with the matter” which Reuters interviewed last month.
“The plans for harsher fines are contained in a consultation document prepared by the administration of President Vladimir Putin and sent to industry players for feedback,” the news agency reported, potentially hitting such global giants as Facebook and Google.
Should they breach the rules, these companies could face fines “equal to 1% of their annual revenue in Russia,” according to Reuters’ sources.
