Russia fines Wikipedia owner nearly $37,000 for failing to "remove" banned article

Wikimedia has not yet commented, but previously Wikimedia said the Ukraine-related information that Russian officials requested to be removed was clearly sourced and in accordance with Wikipedia's regulations.

Illustration photo. (Source: CNN)

According to Russia's TASS news agency, on June 6, a court in this country fined the Wikimedia Foundation , owner of Wikipedia, 3 million rubles ($36,854) for refusing to remove an article about Ukraine 's Azov Battalion , which has been outlawed by Russia.

Wikimedia has not yet commented on the above information. But before that, Wikimedia said that the information that Russian authorities requested to be removed was clearly sourced and in accordance with Wikipedia 's regulations.

In recent years, Russia has frequently fined foreign technology companies for failing to comply with its laws.

On June 1, a Russian court also fined the messaging service WhatsApp, owned by its parent company Meta Platforms, 3 million rubles for failing to remove banned content. This is the first time the app has been fined in Russia for such a violation./.