Russia Slaps USD209M Fine on Google
The Nagorny district court found Google in violation of prior court orders over its failure to remove prohibited content and its refusal to store Russian users' personal data on domestic servers, multiple local media outlets reported. The ruling marks the latest escalation in Moscow's sustained financial and legal campaign against foreign technology platforms.
Just two days earlier, a separate Moscow district court levied an additional 22.8 million rubles ($294.8 million) against Google for distributing virtual private network (VPN) services through the Google Play Store, state-owned news agency TASS reported. Russia's state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused Google of ignoring repeated orders to pull apps and advertisements that enabled users to circumvent state-imposed internet restrictions.
VPNs have grown increasingly vital for Russian citizens seeking access to blocked Western platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as Moscow continues to tighten its grip on online access.
The penalties compound an already staggering — if largely symbolic — financial burden on Google in Russia. On Feb. 19, Russia's Supreme Court issued an extraordinary fine of 91.5 quintillion rubles ($1.2 quintillion) against the company, a figure reportedly some one million times larger than global gross domestic product (GDP), stemming from a 2020 lawsuit over YouTube's restrictions on pro-Kremlin channels.
Also on Wednesday, Moscow fined messaging platform Telegram 7 million rubles ($90,524) for failing to remove advertisements and content authorities described as LGBT material, amid the state's intensifying crackdown on queer communities.
Google suspended the majority of its Russian operations following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine five years ago. Its Russian subsidiary declared bankruptcy in 2022 and wound down all commercial activity by October 2023. Despite the ongoing regulatory battles, free services including Google Search and YouTube remain accessible inside Russia — though Moscow has deliberately throttled internet bandwidth in a bid to restrict or discourage use of YouTube.
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