Russia fines Telegram and Viber for failing to remove banned content

According to Russia's TASS news agency, on June 20, a court in Moscow fined the messaging app Telegram 4 million rubles ($47,520) for refusing to remove 32 news channels that reported fake and misleading information about Russia's special military campaign in Ukraine.

Telegram icon on phone screen. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Additionally, the messaging app's parent company has refused to remove certain channels through which users have been scammed and blackmailed.

On the same day, the court also fined the messaging app Viber 1 million rubles for similar charges. In recent years, Russia has frequently fined foreign technology companies for failing to comply with its laws. Most recently, on June 6, a court in the country fined the Wikimedia Foundation, the owner of Wikipedia, 3 million rubles for refusing to remove an article about Ukraine's Azov Battalion, which Russia has outlawed.

On June 1, a Russian court also fined messaging service WhatsApp, owned by its parent company Meta Platforms, 3 million rubles for failing to remove banned content. This is the first time the app has been fined in Russia for such a violation.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper

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