Russian court imposes $47 mln fine on Google

Moscow: Google has been fined an additional $47 million by a Russian court for failing to pay a previous fine related to alleged abuse of its dominant position in the video hosting market.

This decision marks the latest in Moscow's ongoing efforts to penalize foreign tech companies with hefty fines.

In February 2022, Google was initially fined 2 billion roubles for what the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) described as YouTube's biased and unpredictable approach to suspending and blocking users' accounts and content.

Google appealed the decision, and the company has not yet commented on the recent ruling.

The FAS stated that the previous fine was doubled due to non-payment, and Google is now required to pay over 4 billion roubles to the Russian Federation's budget.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Google ceased selling online advertising in Russia but has maintained some free services.

However, its Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy when authorities seized its bank account, preventing the company from paying its employees and vendors.

Google has 60 days to pay the fine, as reported by TASS.