Russia fines WhatsApp, Snapchat, & others over data storage violations

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Jul 2022 17:31

Moscow has previously fined big tech companies over content, censorship, data, and local representation at the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Moscow has previously fined big tech companies.

A Russian court fined WhatsApp, Snapchat, and other foreign firms for refusing to store Russian users' data domestically.

Moscow has previously fined big tech companies over content, censorship, data, and local representation since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Last August, the court ruled that social media giants Twitter and Facebook have to pay 17 million rubles ($227,882) and 15 million rubles ($201,072) respectively for repeated violations of the law, which requires that data on Russian users be stored in Russia. It also for the first time penalized messaging app WhatsApp – owned by Facebook – for 4 million rubles ($53,619) for the same offense.

Russian laws ‘on personal data’ obliges national and foreign companies to store personal information of Russian citizens on the country’s territory only. This also applies to foreign companies that are not physically present in Russia.

Moscow's Tagansky District Court fined WhatsApp 18 million rubles ($301,255) for a repeat offense. WhatsApp's fine exceeded the 15 million rouble penalty handed to Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google for a repeat infringement last month.

Tinder owner Match Group was fined 2 million rubles, Snap and Hotels.com, owned by Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O, were fined 1 million rubles, and music streaming service Spotify SPOT.N was fined 500,000 rubles.

It is worth noting that Spotify closed its Russian office in March and abruptly ceased operations in the country.

According to the RIA news agency, a lawyer for Hotels.com stated that the company did not recognize the charge as an offense, claiming that the company had stopped processing data from Russian users since April 1.

Soon after the war in Ukraine began, Russia restricted access to Meta's flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as fellow social network Twitter.

This came after Meta permitted its users to incite violence against the Russians and Russian soldiers on its social media platforms in light of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.

Amid the wave of anti-Russian narrative spewing from the West, YouTube blocked Russian news outlets, such as RT and Sputnik, globally, and later, Moscow accused it of spreading threats against Russian citizens.