A court in Russia fined popular social media company, Snap Inc, one million rubles ($16,000) for not sharing its users’ data with the Kremlin.
Snapchat Fails to Abide by the Law
The magistrate found the firm guilty under part 8 of article 13.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Judge Timur Vakhrameev announced the verdict in which hw fined the company 1 million rubles.
Since 2015, the statute book required firms to keep tabs on Russian citizens. However, the enforcement agency intensified its efforts in 2019. Russian law stipulates penalties for failure by operators to share personal data.
The law supports the obligation to ensure the recording, storage, or extraction of personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation using databases located on the territory.
Last year, Russia’s telecoms and media regulator, Rozkomnador, identified 46 cases where suspects broke the data law. More than six hundred companies, including big tech firms such as Apple, Microsoft, PayPal, and Samsung, are complacent in handing their Russian users’ data over to the Kremlin.
YouTube Faces Serious Charges
Earlier this month, Russia fined Google $387 million (twenty-one billion rubles) for failing to remove fake content from YouTube. Igor Ashmanov, a member of the State Duma-based Digital Economy Council, said they could block YouTube in Russia by October.
According to him, he believes it is possible as soon as Rutube (a Russian video platform) starts working properly. A few days ago, it was reported that Russia fined Google an additional $34 million (two billion rubles) for abusing its position on the internet.
We still need to rely on the fact that YouTube will still be blocked. The owner just got fined yet again for not removing prohibited content. It will eventually end. I think this will end by fall when Rutube starts working normally, video in VKontakte becomes more or less independent hosting. When these services begin to function normally, YouTube will be replaced,” he said.
