Russia says it supports the business activities of the various big techs within its borders, but it won’t tolerate them breaching the laws governing their operations in the country. Unfortunately, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is one of the social media companies that finds itself on the bad side of the law. As a result, it incurred about 3 million roubles loss, which translates to about $41,017.
Russia’s crackdown has been rather evident
Russia confirms that it will continue with its strong efforts to regulate the various companies to conform to the existing personal data legislation laws. Google has confirmed it will pay the fine, but the standoff between Russia and the various social media companies has been ongoing for quite a while. It was Moscow’s Tagansky District Court that imposed the heavy fine on Google. The Moscow district court has always been the one entrusted with the hearing of the various administrative cases.
Google knew Russia’s stand for it to store the data of its citizens in databases on Russian territory, but it still violated the law. Twitter and Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) happen to be the others that have brushed shoulders with Russia. The communications regulator Roskomnadzor hopes that the two will adhere to the directive to localize the data of the Russian citizens, failure to which they will incur hefty fines.
Putin’s take
Matters look pretty tough for the social media giants, but President Putin’s recent statement was such a relief. The president confirmed that the country had nothing against the operations of the foreign companies in the country. However, he calls upon all Russian social networks to pave the way for talent to thrive. He wants them to provide opportunities for talented persons to work and earn a living.
Putin opined, “We don’t intend to block anyone, we want to work with them, but there are problems, which lie in the fact that they send us away when they do not comply with our demands and Russian law.”
