Russia Will Slow Down Google If It Doesn't Remove Banned Content In 24 Hours

Russian authorities say Google has 24 hours to remove banned content if it does not want to be fined. Even Russia will slow down Google's speed in this country.

Russia has taken measures to slow down Twitter for not removing banned content. This is part of Moscow's efforts to rein in major Western tech firms and protect its Internet sovereignty.

Media watchdog Roskomnadzor said it had sent more than 26,000 calls to Google to remove illegal information, including videos containing information about drugs, violence or extremist organizations. Google will be fined from 800,000 to 4 million rubles (VND 249 million to VND 1.24 billion) if it does not restrict access to prohibited information. Repeat violations will be fined up to 10% of total annual revenue.

In addition, Roskomnadzor also accused Google of censoring domestic news agencies such as RT, Sputnik. Authorities asserted that censorship of Russian media and support for illegal protests "really speaks to the political color of Google's activities in Russia".

Last week, Google's Russia branch filed an appeal against a Moscow court order ordering it to unlock the account of a news channel belonging to a Russian businessman who is under financial sanctions from the United States and Europe. Court documents also show that Google sued Roskomnadzor for asking to remove banned content.

Google filed a lawsuit on April 23, but it was only accepted on May 11 after solving some problems. The hearing is scheduled to take place on July 14.