A Russian court on Thursday fined Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp messenger, Snapchat owner Snap and other foreign firms for their suspected rejection to store the data of Russian users domestically.
Moscow has conflicted with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local illustration in disputes that have worsened since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Moscow’s Tagansky District Court fined WhatsApp 18 million roubles ($301,255) for a reappearance offence after it suffered a 4 million rouble penalty last August. WhatsApp’s fine overdone the 15 million rouble penalty handed to Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google for a repeat infringement last month.
The court fined Tinder Owner Match Group 2 million roubles, Snap and Hotels.com, owned by Expedia Group Inc (EXPE.O), 1 million roubles, and music running service Spotify (SPOT.N) 500,000 roubles.
None of the companies instantly answered to requests for comment.
Spotify closed its Russian office in March and soon subsequently suspended its service in the country.
The RIA news agency quoted a lawyer for Hotels.com as saying that the company did not identify the charge as an offence, adding that the company had stopped handling any data of users from Russia since April 1.
Russia restricted access to Meta’s flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as fellow social network Twitter (TWTR.N), soon later the conflict in Ukraine began, a move opponents have cast as an effort by Russia to exert superior control over information flows.
Meta found guilty of “extremist activity” in Russia and saw a plea in contradiction of the tag rejected in June, but Moscow has allowed WhatsApp to continue available.
Also Read: Moscow Court Fined Google 21 Billion Rubles ($360 Million)
More than 600 foreign companies have agreed to Russia’s demands since the data storage law passed in 2015, said Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the Russian parliament’s committee on information policy.
“In the context of the information war with the West, we convince that this law was necessary,” Gorelkin wrote on Telegram. “Only in this way can we be sure that foreign intelligence services and all kinds of fraudsters do not gain access to (the data).”
($1 = 59.7500 roubles)