Google fined $32,000 in Russia over Ukraine videos

A Russian magistrate court on Thursday fined Google 3 million rubles, or about $32,000, after it allegedly failed to delete a video that contained what Russia claimed to be false information related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that in addition to “false information,” Google was also found guilty of publishing prohibited information that detailed ways of gaining entry into protected facilities that are not open to minors. The Russian court did not specify what kind of facility was in question. 

TASS reported the Russian court claimed to have warned Google to take down the videos, which were posted on YouTube, before the fine was imposed. 

Google declined to comment.

Russia has tried to carefully control the narrative accessible to the Russian people since the start of the war. Russia has also implemented new measures to punish those who question or criticize its war in Ukraine. 

This latest fine comes after similar moves from Russia against other tech giants. Earlier this month, Russia took similar action against Apple and the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. 

Russia has few means to actually collect the fine from Google. Google’s Russia operations effectively ceased when the war started. Google has said it filed for bankruptcy in Russia after its bank accounts were seized by Russian authorities.

The Associated Press contributed.