The ECHR has ruled that the fines imposed on Google violate the right to freedom of expression.

On 8 July, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling on Google’s complaint, in which the company challenged multi-million rouble fines imposed by Russian courts for failing to remove opposition content on YouTube and for blocking the Tsargrad TV channel.

In March and May 2022, Roskomnadzor demanded that the platform delete videos from Alexei Navalny’s channel and certain materials from independent media about the fighting in Ukraine, describing these publications as “socially significant disinformation” and “calls for extremist activity.” Judges found that the disproportionately large fines—totalling billions of roubles—for refusing to remove this content created a “chilling effect” for those publishing material critical of the authorities.

The pressure put on the technology company to restore access to the Tsargrad channel, whose owner is under international sanctions, was described as “unprecedented and openly disproportionate.” For instance, the initial fine of 100,000 roubles (about US$1,100) per day, rising progressively each week, did not match the average advertising revenue from the YouTube channel—roughly 24,400 roubles (about US$270).

According to the court decision, both the demands to remove certain materials and the pressure over the blocking of the Tsargrad channel violate Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression.

“The Court noted objective inconsistencies in the authorities’ approach: on the one hand, the Russian authorities claimed to be protecting freedom of expression for the Tsargrad TV channel, while at the same time demanding that Google remove content critical of the government’s policies, including materials about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the published press release states.

“The ECHR ruling establishes important legal principles and adds to the Court’s body of case law. All Council of Europe member states (the majority of which, unlike Russia, actually implement ECHR decisions) now have a benchmark: in cases of unlawful pressure on online platforms, lawyers will be able to refer to this case both at the European and national court levels. Russia will most likely ignore the implementation of the ruling, but even so, its dispute with Google will become part of the case law on the protection of freedom of expression and information sharing—and will be of use to lawyers and researchers for many years to come,” comments OVD-Info lawyer Melania Maslova.

• Google and its Russian subsidiary OOO Google are routinely fined for refusing to delete information that violates Russian law, as well as for failing to reinstate pro-government Russian channels on YouTube that are subject to EU and US sanctions. The most recent time, on 8 July, Google was fined 7.6 million roubles (about US$85,000) for refusing to remove prohibited information.
• A court in Russia limited the accrual of penalty fees for Google as of October 2023, when its Russian subsidiary was declared bankrupt. The fine accrued up until that point—91.5 quintillion roubles—remains subject to enforcement, as the Russian court argued that Google had the possibility to unblock Russian channels on YouTube.