Facebook has been forced to pay a fine of 17 million rubles ($229,643) in Russia for failing to remove banned content. However, the Interfax news agency said there could be bigger fines ahead.
According to a Reuters report, Facebook’s parent company Meta and Google’s parent company Alphabet will face court next week. Both companies could be fined a portion of their annual revenue from the country for failing to consistently remove banned Russian content.
Reuters did not immediately find respond to a request for comment from Facebook.
Last October, Russia ordered Facebook to pay a 17 million fine. No further legal action was taken against the social media in the Bailiff Service’s database as of Sunday after the fine was paid.
According to Interfax, the messaging app Telegram will also have to pay a fine of 15 million rubles. The Telegram has not yet commented on the matter.