Russia has imposed a fine on the social media platform Reddit for the first time, alleging the platform failed to remove content that violated regulations, as reported by RIA citing a Moscow court on Tuesday. The content in question was labelled as containing false information concerning Russia’s military activities in Ukraine. This development adds Reddit to a growing roster of online platforms facing scrutiny in Russia due to their alleged failure to take down content deemed unlawful by Moscow. Among the other platforms facing similar accusations are Wikimedia, the foundation behind Wikipedia, streaming service Twitch, and Google.
According to RIA, the Moscow court issued a fine of 2 million roubles (roughly Rs 17.20 lakh) against Reddit. The platform has yet to respond to a request for comment sent via email.
In a parallel incident on the same day, the Moscow court also fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia, with a penalty of 2 million roubles. The charges against Wikimedia were related to its alleged retention of “false” information concerning what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine, as reported by Interfax.
Since its incursion into Ukraine the previous year, Russia has taken steps to increase control over media and bloggers covering the conflict. The nation has introduced more stringent punishments for content that are seen as tarnishing the reputation of its armed forces or disseminating untrue information about them.
Wikimedia has previously argued that the information flagged by Russian authorities adheres to well-established sourcing standards and aligns with Wikipedia’s guidelines.
Amid a government crackdown on online content, Wikipedia stands as one of the scarce independent sources of information in Russia. This crackdown intensified after Russia deployed its armed forces into Ukraine. Russia has indicated that it does not intend to block access to Wikipedia but has recurrently imposed fines on the online encyclopedia.
The penalties imposed by Russia have been criticised by Wikimedia, which has labelled them as part of a broader strategy by the Russian government to limit the availability of accurate and well-sourced information within the country.