Google Faces $34 Million Fine in Russia Over Breach of Competition Rules

Russia's competition watchdog penalized Alphabet's Google RUB two billion (roughly Rs. 260 crores) on a weekday for abusing its dominant position within the video hosting market, the regulator aforesaid in an exceeding statement. the choice is the latest multi-million dollar fine as a part of Moscow's progressively assertive campaign against foreign school corporations. The Federal antitrust Service (FAS) aforesaid the corporate had "abused its dominant position within the YouTube video hosting services market", while not providing further details.

"We can study the text of the official call to outline our next steps," Google aforesaid in an exceedingly statement to Reuters.

Google should pay the fine within 2 months of it going into force, the FAS aforesaid.

Russia has mistreated Google's Russian subsidiary with various fines in recent months. Last week a court ordered it to pay RUB twenty-one. 1 billion (roughly Rs. 2,800 crores) over what prosecutors aforesaid were continual refusals to get rid of content Russia deems illegitimate, like "fake news" concerning Russia's invasion of the state.

Since the capital of the Russian Federation launched what it calls its "special military operation" in the state, it's conjointly accelerated attacks on Western school corporations reception in an exceedingly push to exert a lot of management over the net area, together with through supporting domestic players to oust their Western rivals.

Gazprom Media - a media conglomerate joined to socialistic superior planet Gazprom - has been heavily promoting RuTube, which is Russian different to YouTube, which has seen pointy dealing in traffic since February.

YouTube, which has blocked Russian state-funded media globally, is under significant pressure from Russia's communications regulator and politicians.

Google stopped commerce online advertising in Russia in early March however has unbroken some free services offered. Its Russian subsidiary formally filed for bankruptcy once authorities condemned its checking account, creating it not possible to pay workers and vendors.