Russia: District Court of Moscow fines Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp for non-compliance with data localisation obligation

On 26 August 2021, the Tagansky District Court of Moscow fined Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp with pecuniary sanctions of 17 million rubles, 15 million rubles and 4 million rubles, respectively. The fines were handed out as a result of violations against Part 8 and 9 of Art. 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. First-time offenders can be fined with a sanction of up to 6 million rubles pursuant to part 8 of article 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, while repeat offenders' fines can reach up to 18 million rubles under part 9 of Art. 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.