Russian State Watchdog to Fine Google Over Active Links to Prohibited Content

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Google has not connected to Russia’s Federal State Information System, requiring search engines to remove links to prohibited resources from the search results, and therefore will be fined, Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor said Thursday.

"Google has not complied with Russian law and will be fined… Roskomnadzor demands that the search engine within 30 days be connected to the Federal State Information System (FSIS) containing the register of prohibited Internet resources. In three business days, the search engine must start filtering the search results," Roskomnadzor said in a statement.

The watchdog noted that it sent a relevant letter to Google, and recalled that companies non-compliant with the requirements are subjected to fine varying from 500,000 to 700,000 rubles ($7,600-$10,600).

The Roskomnadzor deputy chief, Vadim Subbotin, told Sputnik that Google had three days to reply and send its objections to the watchdog.

After receiving the reply, the watchdog will file an administrative offense report to court, which will make a decision on imposing fine.

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On June 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, making operators of research engines liable to fines for their failure to remove links to pages listed in the register of prohibited Internet resources from the search results.