A Russian court fined Alphabet’s Google 3 million roubles ($38,600) on Thursday for failing to delete YouTube videos it said promoted “LGBT propaganda” and “false information” about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
The Putin-led government disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Russian authorities said that Google had refused to take down a number of YouTube videos, including one promoting same-sex parenting and the LGBT community in St. Petersburg from a blogger deemed a “foreign agent” by Moscow.
Any action or the dissemination of any information that is deemed to be an attempt to promote homosexuality in public, online, or in films, books, or advertisements could result in a heavy fine under the new law, which broadens Russia’s interpretation of what constitutes “LGBT propaganda” and has drawn harsh criticism from independent human rights groups.
In an effort to tighten its grip on what Russian internet users view online, Moscow has fined Western IT companies numerous times over the past year.
