Russia sues Google, Facebook, Twitter for not deleting protest content: report

In this Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 file photo, police officers detain a Navalny supporter during a protest in St. Petersburg, Russia. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

MOSCOW — Russian authorities are suing five social media platforms for allegedly failing to delete posts urging children to take part in illegal protests, the Interfax news agency cited a Moscow court as saying on Tuesday.

Twitter, Google, Facebook each have three cases against them, with each violation punishable by a fine of up to 4 million roubles (around US$54,000), and cases have also been filed against Tiktok and Telegram, the report said.

The cases were opened after protests nationwide over last month's jailing of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny and his supporters say his 30-month sentence, for alleged parole violations related to an embezzlement case, was trumped up for political reasons, something the authorities deny.

Google declined to comment on the Interfax report. Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Telegram did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The cases against Google, Facebook and Twitter will be heard on April 2, the agency said.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow Writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by John Stonestreet)