A Moscow court fined Alphabet's Google RUB 15 million (about 2.07 crore) for violating a Russian statute mandating digital companies to localise user data.

Russia has fined international IT companies for a variety of infractions in recent years, which opponents believe is an attempt to control the internet.

Facebook and Instagram have been blocked in Russia, but Google and its YouTube video hosting service are still available despite the pressure.

Moscow takes particular exception to the way YouTube treats Russian media, which it has prevented users from accessing.

Nevertheless, Anton Gorelkin, the deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, indicated that the American company was not at risk of the same fate.

"Blocking is an extreme measure, but YouTube and Google are participants in the information war against Russia," Gorelkin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Moscow's Tagansky District Court declared Google failed to store Russian users' personal data in Russian databases.

After Russia's capital city of Moscow dispatched troops into Ukraine at the end of February, Google relocated some of its employees out of Russia.

App for sharing photos For a first-time offence, LikeMe was fined RUB 1.5 million (approximately $20,70,972). LikeMe was unavailable for comment.

Google's capacity to pay may be impeded by the fact that its Russian business filed for bankruptcy in May after authorities seized its bank account.

Gorelkin claimed Google couldn't be a worldwide leader without China operations and cited Yandex as a competition. "If Google doesn't cross the line, it'll stay in Russia," he stated.