- This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine
MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Portal) – Russia’s state communications regulator said on Friday it is taking punitive action against five foreign IT companies for violating online content laws that could require search engines to include a disclaimer about the violations.
Regulator Roskomnadzor said it is imposing measures on ByteDance’s TikTok, Telegram messaging service, Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O), chat tool Discord and Pinterest (PINS.N).
In a statement, Roskomnadzor said the measures were in response to the companies’ failure to remove content flagged as illegal and would remain in effect until they comply.
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Neither company immediately responded to written requests for comment.
Roskomnadzor did not specify exactly what actions will be taken. Russia’s dominant search engine Yandex (YNDX.O) already carries a disclaimer for some other websites that reads: “Roskomnadzor: website violates Russian law”.
“Roskomnadzor has decided to use enforcement measures … in the form of internet users being informed by search engines about the companies’ violations of Russian legislation,” the regulator said.
Russia has fined several, mostly foreign, tech companies for failing to remove content it deems illegal. It has also warned websites against violating a law passed in early March that bans “discrediting” the armed forces with a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
On Tuesday, Russian courts fined Amazon’s live-streaming unit Twitch (AMZN.O) 2 million rubles ($33,900) and Telegram 11 million rubles for hosting content that Moscow says is “fake” contained information about events in Ukraine.
Russian lawmakers approved a bill in July that would provide tougher penalties for foreign internet companies, including disclaimers for search engines. Continue reading
($1 = 59,0000 rubles)
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Reporting by Portal Editors Tomasz Janowski and Frances Kerry
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