On July 19, 2023, something significant occurred. A Moscow court imposed a fine of 390,000 rubles on Reddit. The reason behind the fine was Reddit’s failure to remove banned content in Russia. The forbidden content consisted of posts that advocated “extremist” views and provided information on evading military service.
Why did Reddit face this penalty? Well, Russia has a law that obligates websites to delete content classified as “extremist” or “illegal.” Russian authorities had previously warned Reddit multiple times to eliminate such content, but the platform did not comply.
So, what does this fine mean? It marks the first instance of Reddit being fined in Russia. It signals a more aggressive approach by the Russian government toward foreign social media platforms. Consequently, platforms like Twitter and Facebook could face similar consequences.
It’s worth noting that Reddit has yet to respond to the fine. There is a possibility that the company might contest the court’s decision. Nonetheless, this penalty serves as a reminder of Russia’s crackdown on online content it deems harmful.
