The fines were issued in addition to unpaid fines, which were also doubled.
Google-owned Alphabet has not paid previous fines or commented on the case. ROMAN PILIPEY
According to Reuters, Russia has imposed an additional fine of just under 43 million euros (4 billion rubles) on the US internet giant Google’s parent company Alphabet. The reason is that Alphabet has not paid its previous fines to Russia.
A stone in the authorities’ shoe is the YouTube video service owned by the company and its content, which, according to the authorities, does not work in accordance with the country’s interests.
The Russian state news agency TASS has reported that the State Monopolies Authority (FAS) has accused YouTube of a lack of transparency. FAS also accuses the service of bias and unpredictability when it comes to blocking content produced by content producers.
The previous fines were doubled and doubled more
FAS had previously imposed half the fines on Alphabet in February. Due fines have also been doubled and the new fines come in addition to the old ones.
– The company must pay double the amount to the state budget in addition to the previous fines, FAS stated.
In total, this amounts to approximately EUR 85.5 million.
Alphabet’s Russian subsidiary went bankrupt in June of last year. The authorities had seized the company’s bank accounts and they were unable to pay salaries to their personnel.
The authorities require the company to pay the fines within 60 days. The company has not commented on the case.
Russia has recently fined foreign internet giants with a heavy hand. The accusations have mostly followed the same pattern, where internet companies have agreed to act in accordance with the country’s interests.