A Russian court has fined WhatsApp 3 million rubles (about $37,000) for not removing banned content. According to a Reuters report, this is the first fine on the instant messaging platform owned by Meta. Russia for such offence. Prior to this, the widely popular messenger app in the country has never faced penalties for failing to remove restricted information.
In 2022, Russia to ban WhatsApp’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc, citing it as an “extremist” organization. Other meta Services including Facebook and Instagram have also been banned in Russia. Elon Musk-led micro-blogging site Twitter and Alphabet-owned Google along with these social media platforms have also been fined over content in the country.
However, this is not the first penalty imposed by WhatsApp. Earlier, the country fined the messaging service for refusing to comply with Russian data law. The law asked WhatsApp to store Russian data on servers located in the country.
WhatsApp refuses to remove banned content in Russia
According to a report in RIA news agency, the latest fine was imposed because of WhatsApp’s refusal to remove information about the drug Lyrica. The sale and manufacture of this drug is prohibited in Russia. Meta has not yet commented on the fine
Moscow has for years butted heads with tech majors over content, censorship, data and local representation. These disputes escalated after Russia sent its armed forces to Ukraine in February 2022.
In 2022, Russia to ban WhatsApp’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc, citing it as an “extremist” organization. Other meta Services including Facebook and Instagram have also been banned in Russia. Elon Musk-led micro-blogging site Twitter and Alphabet-owned Google along with these social media platforms have also been fined over content in the country.
However, this is not the first penalty imposed by WhatsApp. Earlier, the country fined the messaging service for refusing to comply with Russian data law. The law asked WhatsApp to store Russian data on servers located in the country.
WhatsApp refuses to remove banned content in Russia
According to a report in RIA news agency, the latest fine was imposed because of WhatsApp’s refusal to remove information about the drug Lyrica. The sale and manufacture of this drug is prohibited in Russia. Meta has not yet commented on the fine
Moscow has for years butted heads with tech majors over content, censorship, data and local representation. These disputes escalated after Russia sent its armed forces to Ukraine in February 2022.
Other WhatsApp data fines
In January, the Irish Data Protection Commission ,dpc) also fined WhatsApp €5.5 million ($5.95 million). The messaging service was fined for allegedly violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union in the country.
Ireland’s regulatory watchdog ordered WhatsApp to bring its data processing operations into compliance within six months. The DPC also threatened to impose fresh fines if the messaging platform failed to comply with the order.