Russia warns Google to fine up to 20% of its annual revenue, saying it 'did not remove illegal YouTube videos'

On March 30, 2022, the Russian communications regulator, the Federal Communications, Information Technology and Media Field Supervisory Authority (Roskomnadzor), said that the Russian government did not delete the illegal YouTube video and did not obey the order. Announced that it could impose a fine of up to 8 million rubles (about 11.7 million yen). If Google repeats violations, the fine may be raised to a maximum of 20% of Google's annual revenue.

Russian regulators are threatening YouTube with fines for role in'information war'--The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/29/russia-youtube-fine/

Russian regulator says it will fine Google over Ukraine war videos --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/30/23002909/russia-youtube-google-illegal-content-roskomnadzor-ukraine-war-regulator-fine

'YouTube has become one of the key platforms for information warfare against Russia,' Roskomnadzor said in a Telegram post. On top of that, 'On YouTube, false content containing misleading information about special military operations in Ukraine that would discredit the Russian army, radical information calling for violence against Russian military personnel, the Right Sector and the Azov Battalion in Ukraine. The materials of extremist organizations such as are explicitly advertised. '

In this post, Roskomnadzor puts up to 8 million rubles under a law that imposes administrative responsibility on operators who do not remove illegal content on the website because Google did not remove the video at the request of the Russian Public Prosecutor's Office. He said he would be fined. In case of repeated violations, the fine will be increased to 20% of Google's annual revenue.

Roskomnadzor doesn't specify which videos were illegal, but I've mentioned before that YouTube has illegal videos. In a statement released on its official website on March 18, the agency urged Google to immediately stop spreading the threat to the citizens of the Russian Federation on YouTube. Is known to be advertising to block railroad communications between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. YouTube's actions that do not stop it are equal to terrorists and threaten the lives and health of the Russian people. ' Was stated.

Access to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is blocked in Russia, making YouTube one of the few American services accessible to Russian Internet users.

Russian government recognizes Facebook operator Meta as a 'radical group' and regulates Instagram-GIGAZINE

Regarding the usage of YouTube by Russians, The Washington Post said, 'YouTube is extremely popular in Russia, and millions of Russians have used it for many years to watch news and entertainment videos. YouTube Has more users than any other social network in Russia, including VK , Russia's domestic SNS, which is considered to be a rival of Facebook. Russia has been a social network in the United States since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. With a series of blocks, YouTube is becoming one of the few ways Russians can use special software to view foreign content without disguising access. '

Several media outlets have inquired about this issue to Google, but no response was received at the time of writing the article, so it is unclear how Google plans to respond to this measure.