Russia fines Facebook, Telegram over banned content

Russian authorities on Thursday ordered Facebook and the messaging app Telegram to pay steep fines for failing to remove banned content, a move that could be part of growing government efforts to tighten control over social media platforms amid political dissent.

A Moscow court fined Facebook a total of 17 million rubles (roughly $236,000) and Telegram 10 million rubles ($139,000). It wasn’t immediately clear what type of content the platforms failed to take down.

It was the second time both companies have been fined in recent weeks. On May 25, Facebook was ordered to pay 26 million rubles ($362,000) for not taking down content deemed unlawful by the Russian authorities. A month ago, Telegram was also ordered to pay 5 million rubles ($69,000) for not taking down calls to protest.