Google, Meta face penalties in Russia as deadline passes to open local offices (updated)

JOYY

01/03/2022 18:35

(Adds detail from Meta Platforms)
    By Paresh Dave
    March 1 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's  GOOGL.O  Google and
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc  FB.O  are among internet
companies facing possible punitive measures in Russia after
failing to open local offices and take other measures required
by a communications law.
    Since July 2021, Russian legislation signed by President
Vladimir Putin has obliged foreign social media companies with
more than 500,000 daily users to open local offices or be
subject to restrictions as severe as outright bans.
    The new rules also require companies to register with
Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor and have a system
for fielding user complaints. In November, Roskomnadzor listed
13 companies it wanted to set up officially on Russian soil.
Last month, it said it would start imposing restrictions by the
end of February.
    Ahead of the March deadline, only a few had complied. Since
Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week, Western governments have
urged companies to push back on Putin in any way possible.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2V21LU Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special
operation.”
    Apple Inc  AAPL.O  and Spotify Technology SA  SPOT.N  had
fully complied before fighting began in Ukraine. On Monday,
Roskomnadzor's website showed Rakuten Group Inc's  4755.T 
messaging app Viber had completed all required steps.
    Six other companies had fulfilled at least one policy but
had not established a Russian legal entity or local office.
Those were Google, Meta, Twitter Inc  TWTR.N , ByteDance's
TikTok, Zoom Video Communications Inc  ZM.O , JOYY Inc's  YY.O 
video app Likee, the government website https://236-fz.rkn.gov.ru/agents/list
 showed late Monday.
    Meta had been in "protracted discussions" with the Russian
regulator up until the invasion of Ukraine occurred, Nick Clegg,
Meta's head of global affairs, said during a press call on
Tuesday.
    Clegg said Meta sought to comply with the law "where we feel
we can in good conscience do so," but added there were other
provisions the company felt were difficult to understand. 
    Four companies - chat tool Discord, Amazon.com Inc's
 AMZN.O  live streaming unit Twitch, messaging app Telegram and
bookmarking service Pinterest Inc  PINS.N  - had taken no steps
to comply, according to the website.
    Likee said its Feb. 16 filing to form a Russian legal entity
was under review and it plans to comply with the law. Twitter
declined to comment. The other 11 companies did not respond to
requests for comment. 
    Last month, Roskomnadzor said it would begin barring
non-compliant companies from selling ads in Russia. It
previously has said blocking access to the targeted services
would be a last resort, and other penalties could include
limiting data collection and money transfers.
    The regulation is a part of a wider campaign for internet
control that critics say threatens individual and corporate
freedom. Authorities in Russia have issued small fines to social
media companies for ignoring demands to censor anti-government
activists or information.
    Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special
operation," has curtailed access to Facebook in recent days in
retaliation for the platform's censoring state media services,
which critics say promote fake news and propaganda. Twitter has
also been slow to access on mobile devices.
    Demand has surged in Russia during the crackdown for virtual
private networking (VPN) apps, which can help with circumventing
internet restrictions. Three of the top five most downloaded
apps on Apple's App Store on Monday were VPNs. They generated a
combined 383,000 installs over the past seven days, 15 times
more than the prior seven-day period, according to estimates
from tracker Sensor Tower.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2V37C8
    Russia, with a population of about 144 million, had nearly
51 million users on Instagram and 7.5 million on Facebook as of
last November, according to research outfit Insider
Intelligence.

 (Reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, Calif. and Moscow bureau;
Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Simon Cameron-Moore and David Gregorio)
 ((paresh.dave@thomsonreuters.com; 415-565-1302;))