A Moscow court on Friday fined Google nearly $ 100 million for failing to remove content banned by local law, a penalty that reflects Russia's efforts to increase pressure on big tech companies.
The Tagansky District Court ruled that Google had repeatedly failed to remove the prohibited content and ordered the company to pay
an administrative fine of about 7.2 billion rubles (about $ 98.4 million)
.
Google announced that it would study the court documents and then decide its next steps.
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Russian authorities have steadily increased pressure on social media platforms, accusing them of failing to purge content related to the abuse of drugs, weapons and explosives.
Earlier this year, authorities blamed tech companies for failing to remove ads about unsanctioned protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
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Russian courts had already imposed minor fines on Google, Facebook and Twitter this year.
Friday's ruling by the Moscow court marked the first time that the amount of the fine was calculated on the basis of income.
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Russian authorities have also required foreign tech giants to store the personal data of Russian citizens on servers in Russia, threatening them with fines or possible bans if they fail to comply.
