Google has been fined 3 million roubles ($38,600) by a Russian court for not removing YouTube videos that the court claimed promoted "LGBT propaganda" and "false information" about the Ukraine war.
The fine is the result of a new law banning "LGBT propaganda" that is part of Moscow's efforts to restrict access to information online.
- Russian prosecutors accused Google of failing to take down YouTube videos deemed illegal under the law, including one about same-sex couples raising children and the LGBT community in St. Petersburg.
- Google hasn't said if it will appeal the decision.
- The fine comes after the company's Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy last year following a 7.2 billion rouble ($92.6M) fine levied in late 2021 over the company's failure to remove banned content online.
- In July 2022, a Russian court fined Google another 21.1 billion roubles ($370M) for what it said was a repeated failure to remove "prohibited" content from YouTube and other platforms. The content reportedly includes videos about the war and others allegedly promoting terrorism and extremism.
- Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, YouTube has banned state-run media accounts supporting the war and refused to remove content deemed "illegal" from its platform.
- Russia has retaliated through the fines but has not banned the site.