Russia has fined Google 4 million rubles ($ 50,000) for failing to remove “false” information about Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine, according to Reuters and TARS.
Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) said earlier this month that it was taking steps to punish Google for “spreading fake news” on YouTube, having previously warned the US company that failure to comply will be fined.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Google banned advertising for Russian users, and the Kremlin accused YouTube of inciting “information warfare” after a video platform blocked Russia’s state media.
The Russian regulator has also sounded the alarm that Google Translate is asking some users to change the phrase “dear Russians” to “dead Russians”. However, similar phrases are not available when using other national languages.