Russian court fines Twitter over failure to delete content

Russian court fined Twitter $42,011.29 over its failure to delete what the authorities said was banned content

MOSCOW:

A Russian court on Friday fined Twitter $42,011.29 over its failure to delete what the authorities said was banned content.

Moscow said last month it had slowed the speed of US-based Twitter inside Russia and on March 16 threatened to ban the social media service outright in a month over content ranging from child pornography to drug abuse.

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There was no immediate comment from Twitter. It said earlier that it was worried about the impact on the free speech of the Russian action, and denied that it allowed its platform to be used to promote illegal behavior as alleged by Russian authorities.

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Earlier this month, US lawmakers unleashed a torrent of criticism against social media top executives, blaming the companies for amplifying false content and calls to violence while promising new regulations to stem rampant online disinformation.

The video hearing attended remotely by top executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter got off to a stormy start as lawmakers accused them of intentionally making products that get people hooked.