Russia fines US web giants for breaching data storage law

Moscow’s Tagansky district court fined Facebook 15mil rubles (RM849,417) and Twitter 17mil rubles (RM962,673) for repeat offences, while WhatsApp was handed a 4mil ruble (RM226,595) fine for a first-time infraction, the Roskomnadzor watchdog said. — AFP

MOSCOW: Russia has fined Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp for failing to store the data of Russian users on local servers, the country’s Internet watchdog said Thursday, as authorities clamp down on foreign Internet companies.

The penalties come as authorities ramp up control of the Russian segment of the Internet and after President Vladimir Putin accused Western social media platforms of flouting the country’s laws.