Roskomnadzor has warned that non-compliance will entail hefty fines for the platform’s owner, Google LLC
YouTube has yet to delete more than 60,000 pieces of content found to be in breach of Russian laws, the country’s media and digital watchdog, Roscomnadzor, has revealed.
Since the start of Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine in February 2022, authorities in Moscow have repeatedly taken issue with the US video-hosting platform’s failure to remove materials at their request.
Speaking to TASS on Tuesday, Roskomnadzor’s press office said that “at present, the number of illegal materials on YouTube not deleted at Roskomnadzor’s request is more than 60,700.”
Officials pointed out that the owners of a website are obliged to remove any such files within 24 hours. In cases involving the incitement of public unrest, extremism, and certain types of fake news, remedial action should be taken immediately, the watchdog added.
Roskomnadzor said that non-compliance is punishable by a fine amounting to as much as 20% of a company’s annual revenue for repeat offenders.
According to the Russian watchdog, in 2022, Google LLC was slapped with some 21 billion rubles ($220 million) in fines, while last year the US tech giant was fined to the tune of 4.6 billion rubles.
Google has been under pressure in Russia since the end of 2021 over its failure to delete content that Moscow deems illegal. In April 2022, reports emerged that the company had failed to pay the fines incurred, ultimately resulting in the seizure of Google’s Russian accounts.
Faced with multiple hefty penalties, as well as monetary liabilities to numerous Russian businesses over its failure to provide advertising services, a Moscow court recognized Google’s Russian subsidiary as bankrupt last October.
Free services, including the company’s search engine, as well as YouTube, are still available in Russia.
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