Russia imposes fines on Telegram and Viber for war-related content

Telegram and Viber, the messaging app companies, were fined by a Moscow court for their failure to remove content that Russia considers illegal, including information about the war in Ukraine, as reported by Interfax news agency.

According to Interfax, Telegram, based in Dubai, was ordered to pay a fine of 4 million roubles ($47,525), while the Japanese company behind Viber was fined 1 million roubles.

Telegram, established in 2013 by Russian-born brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, enjoys immense popularity in Russia. It is extensively used on a daily basis by various entities, including the Kremlin, defense ministry, journalists, opposition figures, human rights organizations, and millions of ordinary individuals.

According to TASS news agency, the fine imposed on Telegram was specifically due to its refusal to remove 32 channels that were publishing false information regarding Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia has implemented stricter controls over media and bloggers covering the conflict. Harsher penalties have been introduced for actions deemed as “discrediting” the armed forces or spreading false information about them.

Russia has frequently issued fines against various content providers, including Google, Twitter, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram. This month, WhatsApp faced fines for the first time. TASS reported that the same Moscow court is currently examining a case against Apple, which is also accused of failing to remove illegal content.

In a separate case, the Wikimedia Foundation, responsible for Wikipedia, was fined 1.5 million roubles by Moscow’s Tagansky court. Interfax stated that the authorities requested the removal of a video related to trainsurfing, an activity considered illegal and dangerous in many countries.