Russia Accuses Google Of Supporting Government's Banned Sites

Today, by not removing links to the country’s banned websites, Google was formally accused of breaking the law by Russian state officials.

In a statement, the state communications agency, Roskomnadzor stated that the company had not connected to the country’s banned sources database. Google could face a fine that is considered a minuscule compared to the company’s size.  Google might need to pay an amount of up to $10,000 which is equivalent to about 700,000 roubles.

It is reported by the Reuters that more severe actions have been considered by the Russian government to deal with this situation. This could include fining up to 1 percent of annual revenue if the company fails to abide by similar laws. In the last five years, a series of stricter laws have been introduced to give the government more power to web censoring. The search engine like Google is required to delete some search results. Also, social platforms to keep personal data of Russian users and messaging services to share encrypted keys with security services are necessary. These laws will probably collide with important sites like Wikipedia.

Online services can also be blocked by Russian authorities; however, this may prove to be technically challenging. Under a new draft of new regulations, Russian regulators would maintain their power to block social-media companies. A final decision on the case will be delivered by December, as an insider revealed.

In the past, extreme penalties have already been given to Google by the Russian government. In 2016, an antitrust fine of $6.75 million was put on Google over its Android practices. This amount seemed to be minuscule for the Silicon Valley-based company that is worth multi-billion dollar as it was able to recover quickly. A request for comment from Google on the announcement has been made; however, the company has not responded yet.