Russian orthodox channel owner on US sanctions list wins lawsuit against Google

Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, owner of the Christian Orthodox channel Tsargrad TV, has won a lawsuit against Google in a Russian court, saying the US information technology giant is now facing a potentially heavy fine.

Alphabet’s Google had filed a lawsuit in a Russian court, which ordered it to unblock its Tsargrad TV YouTube account, otherwise it would face a daily fine of 100,000 rubles ($ 1,358), which would be doubled each week if Google did not comply.

The Tsargrad TV channel reported that the Moscow Ninth Arbitration Court had upheld the fine. Malofeev also confirmed the court’s decision to Reuters, but was unable to contact the court to comment, despite repeated attempts by telephone and e-mail.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

The case reflects Russia’s declining tolerance of foreign tech giants, many of whom it has fined for failing to delete content that Moscow considers illegal.

Tsargrad said the fine would stop rising when it reached 1 billion rubles ($ 13.6 million), which is expected to happen in mid-March next year. After nine months, he said, the 1 billion ruble limit would be lifted,

The two sides have been embroiled in talks since the case first surfaced in mid-2020, but Tsargrad said in August it had abandoned settlement talks with Google, which it accused of obstructing negotiations.

Google, for its part, said in May that the proposed penalty was “disproportionate” and that the decision had created uncertainty for foreign investors.

The United States and the European Union (EU) have imposed sanctions on Malofeev in 2014, accusing him of funding a pro-Moscow separatist group fighting in Ukraine, which he denies. Russia considers such sanctions illegal.

Malofeyev told Reuters before the latest court ruling that Google had a choice but to either continue to violate Russian law or restore its YouTube channel and face no penalty. “Breaking the law is never part of the investment climate,” he said.

Google, according to the Russian service of the BBC, found itself in this story between a hammer and an anvil: if the company accepts the decision of the Russian court then it is threatened with imposing sanctions on the United States, otherwise it will face huge fines. in Russia.

YouTube also angered Russian state broadcaster RT on Thursday, following its decision to block the new RT DE (in German) channel on its launch day.

The Google press service told Russian television network RBK that the RT auf Sendung channel had been removed because it ignored restrictions imposed earlier, as another channel, RT DE, had been blocked in September. “If a channel has been removed, the channel owner cannot use, own, or create any other YouTube channels. As a result, RT auf Sendung has also been removed for violating You Tube Terms of Use and specifically because it ignored restrictions that had been imposed earlier. ”

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ