Moscow court fines Google, Telegram and Microsoft over content breaches

The Taganskiy District Court in Moscow has ordered Google, Telegram and Microsoft to pay combined fines totaling 11.1 million rubles (approximately $130,000) for failing to remove prohibited content from their platforms, according to court documents.

Court orders multi-million ruble penalties

The court concluded that the companies had violated Russian law by not removing prohibited material, ordering Telegram and Google to each pay 3.8 million rubles while Microsoft was fined 3.5 million rubles. The lawsuits were filed by Russian authorities seeking enforcement of content removal regulations.

Accumulating debts and restrictions

Google has faced particularly severe financial penalties in Russia, with total fines exceeding 29 billion rubles since late 2021 based on calculations tied to the company's revenue. The US tech giant currently holds outstanding debts to Russian authorities exceeding 20 billion rubles, according to local reports.

Telegram has also come under increased scrutiny, with restrictions imposed on its operations across Russia. Moscow courts have levied fines exceeding 100 million rubles against the messaging platform in the first six months of this year alone.