In a recent development, fines previously imposed by Russian courts on Alphabet’s Google and YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram seem to have been resolved, as these companies are no longer listed as debtors in the state bailiffs’ database.
As of the latest check on Wednesday, the database still includes X (formerly Twitter) and Twitch, facing fines of 51 million roubles ($560,730) and 23 million roubles ($252,879), respectively.
While Google, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram have not provided immediate comments on the matter, state bailiffs remain unreachable for comment. Tensions between Russia and foreign technology companies have escalated, focusing on concerns related to unlawful content and the failure to store user data locally. This friction intensified after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In the aftermath of the invasion, Twitter, Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram were blocked, and Google-owned YouTube faced increased scrutiny from the Russian government. In late 2023, a Russian court imposed a 4.6 billion roubles ($50.4 million) fine on Google, calculated as a percentage of its annual turnover in Russia. Meta, having been labeled “extremist” in 2022, also faced fines based on its Russian revenue.
($1 = 91.2575 roubles)
