Moscow Court Rules $280,000 Facebook Fine Legal

A district court in Moscow has confirmed the legality of a 21 million ruble ($280,000) fine on Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) issued for failure to delete banned content, the court told Sputnik on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2021) A district court in Moscow has confirmed the legality of a 21 million ruble ($280,000) fine on Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) issued for failure to delete banned content, the court told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"The Tagansky court left unchanged administrative fines in the amount of 21 million rubles against Facebook Inc.," the court said.

In September, a Moscow magistrate judge found Facebook guilty of committing an administrative offense for failing to remove prohibited content or links to it from its platform. Under the five administrative protocols filed, the social media giant was fined a total of 21 million rubles.

Facebook appealed the decision, requesting a postponement of the payment, but was denied by a Moscow court in October.

In March, the Russian internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor, announced its plans to impose fines on several social media platforms, including Facebook, for failing to remove illegal content after receiving an official notification. In case of repeat violations, fines increase to 10% of a company's total annual income.

On Tuesday, Roskomnadzor filed three more complaints against Meta for not removing banned content, due to be considered in court on December 16.