In a surprising turn of events, Alphabet’s Google, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram have seemingly settled fines imposed by Russian courts, as they are no longer registered as debtors in the state bailiffs’ database, according to information accessed by Reuters.
The fines resulted from Russia’s discontent with foreign technology companies, citing concerns about unlawful content and failing to store user data locally.
X (formerly Twitter) and Twitch, however, remain on the debtor’s list, with fines totaling 51 million roubles ($560,730) and 23 million roubles ($252,879), respectively.
Russia’s conflicts with these tech giants escalated after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to the blocking of Twitter, Meta Platforms‘ Facebook, and Instagram, with YouTube becoming a prime target for Russian authorities.
