Russia fines Google 11m roubles for ‘fake’ videos

A court in Moscow has fined Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc for failing to remove contentious videos.

The US tech giant was handed two fines totalling 11m roubles ($135,000; £155,000) for “administrative violations”. The Tagansky District Court in Moscow said the company had distributed inaccurate data about Russian troop losses and civilian casualties in Ukraine, according to TASS news agency.

One of the videos was said to show a phone conversation between Russian soldiers and their relatives back home. The troops were said to be complaining of casualties in their ranks.

Some foreign social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, have been blocked in Russia. YouTube, however, remains available.

Russia’s communications watchdog has previously said it would take steps to punish Google for “spreading fakes” on YouTube, and had warned the US company it would be fined if it failed to comply.

Google has faced action from Russia before. It was fined 7.2bn roubles ($90m; £70m) roubles in December 2021for failure to delete content deemed illegal in Russia.