New Delhi (India), June 2, 2023: A Russian court levied its first fine against WhatsApp on Thursday, imposing a fine of 3 million roubles ($37,080) for allegedly neglecting to delete unlawful content. This is the first time WhatsApp has been targeted in Russia.
Previously, WhatsApp’s parent firm, Meta Platforms Inc, was barred from operating in Russia last year as it was labelled as an “extremist” group. Russia has also blocked other Meta services, such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter and Alphabet’s Google.
In addition to the latest fine for non-deletion of content, WhatsApp has previously faced penalties for suspected non-compliance with Russian data rules, notably the unwillingness to retain Russian users’ data on Russian servers.
The new fine was issued due to WhatsApp’s failure to remove information regarding the medicine Lyrica, which is illegal in Russia. Meta has thus far not responded.
For years, Moscow has butted heads with Big Tech Companies over content, censorship, data, and local representation. The situation had escalated after Russia pushed its armed forces into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, leading to a war that is still ongoing and has attracted international condemnation.
