Russia fines Twitter & FB

A Russian court on Tuesday said it had fined US social media companies Facebook and Twitter for failing to delete content that Moscow deems illegal, part of a wider crackdown by Russia on the internet and Big Tech.

The Tagansky district court said Facebook had been handed five fines totalling 21 million roubles ($287,850). Twitter received two fines of a total 5 million roubles, it said.

Popular messaging app Telegram had been fined 9 million roubles, the court said.

Facebook, Twitter and Telegram had no immediate comment.

Moscow's actions to strengthen its control of the internet have included a push to require foreign internet companies to open fullyfledged offices in Russia and to store Russians' personal data on its territory.