Google, Twitter, Facebook Face eight more legal complaints in Russia: Court

Moscow [Russia], November 23 (ANI/Sputnik): Transnational IT giants Google, Twitter and Meta (formerly Facebook) received a total of eight new administrative protocols in Russia for failure to remove banned content from their platforms, a Moscow court told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"Two protocols against Google have been registered under Part 4 of Article 13.41 of the Administrative Code (failure to remove links) and one protocol under Part 2 of the same Article (failure to remove banned content)," the court said.
The Russian internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor, also filed two protocols against Twitter for failure to delete banned content and links leading to such content, and another three for Meta on the same grounds.
As of September, Google has been fined a total of 39 million rubles (USD 520,00) for failure to remove content banned in Russia, including incitement to extremism, as well as for refusal to store the personal data of Russian citizens within Russia.
The court will consider the new complaints against Google on December 7, against Twitter and Meta on December 16.
In March, the Russian watchdog announced its plans to impose fines on several social media platforms, including Facebook, for failing to remove illegal content after receiving an official notification. In case of repeat violations, fines increase to one-tenth of a company's total annual income.
On Monday, Roskomnadzor also published a list of 13 foreign Internet companies obliged to open representative offices in the country by January 1. The list includes Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Twitter, TikTok, Telegram, Zoom, Viber, Spotify, Likeme Pte. Ltd. (Likee), Discord, Pinterest and Twitch. (ANI/Sputnik)