Russia gives Google 24 hours to delete banned content

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is seen on on the company's European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, February 27, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's communications watchdog on Monday gave Google 24 hours to delete what it called prohibited content or be fined and said Moscow could eventually slow down the company's traffic in the country.

Russia has already placed a punitive slowdown on U.S. social network Twitter for not deleting banned content, part of a push by Moscow to rein in Western tech giants and beef up what it calls its internet "sovereignty".