Google for the first time fined 3 million rubles for refusing to localize data of Russians

The Magistrate’s Court of the Tagansky District of Moscow found Google guilty of an administrative offense in refusing to localize the data of Russians on the territory of the Russian Federation.

“The company has been fined in the amount of 3 million rubles”, – reported “Interfax” press secretary of the court Zulfiya Gurinchuk.

Earlier, Roskomnadzor (RKN) drew up an administrative protocol against Google LLC under Part 8 of Art. 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of personal data). As explained in the department, the leadership of the American company could not confirm the fact of the localization of the databases of Russian users in Russia.

This is Google’s first fine for refusing to localize databases of Russian users in the Russian Federation. Before that, the company was fined according to the protocols drawn up by the RKN for not removing the prohibited content, for which the court has already issued decisions on fines in the amount of about 10 million rubles. The court also contains protocols according to which the company can be fined tens of millions more rubles.

Google also faced fines for refusing to filter search results for prohibited content.

Since 2015, the Russian authorities have been trying to force Google, as well as the social networks Facebook and Twitter, to comply with the requirements for the localization of data of Russian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation. On May 26, the deputy head of the RKN Milos Wagner said at the department’s collegium that social networks Facebook, Twitter and a number of others should report on the localization of databases of Russian users in the Russian Federation by July 1, otherwise they would face fines.

According to Russian legislation, foreign companies face a fine from 1 million to 6 million rubles for failure to comply with the requirements for localizing databases in Russia. In the event of a repeated violation, the amount increases to 6-18 million rubles.

Also this summer, a law was passed obliging foreign IT companies with a daily audience in the Russian Federation of 500 thousand people to open their branches in the country. If companies do not comply with this requirement, they may, in particular, be prohibited from distributing advertising, as well as collecting personal data, writes Kommersant.

In Russia, the social network LinkedIn has already been blocked for violating the localization requirement. In 2016, the Tagansky District Court of Moscow satisfied the corresponding claim of Roskomnadzor.