This undated file photo shows Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. (PHOTO / AP)
MOSCOW – Alphabet's Google was fined 21.8 billion rubles ($387 million) on Monday by a Russian court for a repeated failure to remove content that Moscow deems illegal, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia has long objected to foreign tech platforms' distribution of content that fall foul of its restrictions, but what had been a simmering dispute has erupted into a full-on battle since the Ukraine crisis began in February.
Late last year, Google was fined 7.2 billion rubles for failing to remove or block content
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Late last year, Google was fined 7.2 billion rubles for failing to remove or block content. Its Russian unit's bank account has been seized, prompting the subsidiary to file for bankruptcy and making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.
Google, which may appeal the ruling, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The communications regulator Roskomnadzor said in June that Alphabet's video platform YouTube was deliberately spreading false information about the conflict in Ukraine, and had permitted content promoting extremist views and calls for children to participate in unauthorized protests.
"The video hosting site YouTube deliberately promotes the dissemination of misleading information about the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine, discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation," Roskomnadzor said.
READ MORE: Russia gives Google one day to delete banned content