Russia fines Amazon up to US$204,000 for failing to delete content

MOSCOW: Amazon.com faces fines of up to 12 million roubles US $204,000 in Russia for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal, news agencies reported on Tuesday, in what would be the first penalty of this kind for the US tech giant.

Russia has fined several foreign tech firms for the same offense, part of what critics say is a wider campaign by the Kremlin to throttle the influence and reach of Western technology companies in Russia.

TASS quoted a Moscow court as saying two cases had been drawn up against Amazon, both of which were related to a violation of the procedure of restricting access to information in accordance with Russian legislation.

The court said Amazon faces a fine of up to 12 million roubles in the form of a fine.

Amazon didn't respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.

The content that had fallen foul of Russian law was not specified by the TASS.

On Tuesday, Moscow's Tagansky District Court fined Amazon's streaming service Twitch 4 million roubles for hosting a video interview with a Ukrainian political figure that Moscow said contained fake information.