A Moscow court fined Google three million rubles, or about $32.000, for not removing a controversial video related to the conflict in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports.
As reported by the Russian media, the court found that the video service YouTube, which is owned by Google, was guilty of not deleting videos with incorrect information about the conflict, which Russia describes as a "special military operation".
A number of sites are under scrutiny in Russia, including Wikimedia and the streaming service Twitch, for failing to remove content Moscow considers illegal.
The last one to receive a fine was the American social network Reddit, and it was two million rubles, about $20.000.
Penalties for LGBT "propaganda"
This is not Google's first dispute with the Russian authorities. A judge in Moscow also ruled in May that Google must pay three million rubles for failing to delete videos promoting LGBT "propaganda." The lawsuit was filed by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
One of the videos, which was removed by Google, featured same-sex couples raising children and was said by Moscow to have been made by a "foreign agent".
Russia expanded its ban on LGBT "propaganda" last year by strengthening laws. Under the new law, which has been heavily criticized by human rights organisations, any action deemed to be an attempt to promote homosexuality in public, online or in films, books and advertisements, could lead to severe punishment.
The law was enacted "in order to protect children from information that advocates the denial of traditional family values."
This is also not the first time that Google has been fined for such a violation, as it was previously fined 7,2 million rubles in 2021 for similar reasons.
AE/AP/N1
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