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Google Files First Suit Against Russian Regulator

By  |  May 24, 2021

Google has filed its first-ever lawsuit against Russia’s internet regulator over Russian demands to remove content from YouTube.

The US technology giant is challenging demands brought by Russia’s federal communications agency Roskomnadzor to take down 12 videos it claims call on minors to participate in unauthorized rallies. Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor on Monday, May 24, gave Google 24 hours to remove prohibited content or face sanctions for “insufficient filtering.”

The US giant faces penalties that include fines and a possible punitive slowdown of its online traffic in the country. Moscow has already placed a punitive slowdown on US social network Twitter for not deleting banned content.

The move comes as Russia seeks to rein in Western tech giants and strengthen what it has termed internet “sovereignty.”

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