Russia: European Court of Human Rights issued its ruling finding Russia violated freedom of expression and right to fair trial in online content and take-down requests (Google and Others v Russia)

On 8 July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in Google v Russia (Application no. 37027/22), finding violations of Article 10 and Article 6 Section 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case arose from administrative and civil proceedings against Google and its affiliates following refusals to remove user-generated content on YouTube deemed unlawful by Russian authorities, and the suspension of monetisation for the Tsargrad TV channel, owned by a sanctioned Russian media entity. The Court held that the imposition of fines, exceeding RUB 28 billion, constituted a disproportionate interference with freedom of expression, exerting considerable pressure on Google LLC to censor political speech, war reporting, and LGBTQ content, all of which concerned matters of significant public interest. It found that the interference lacked a legitimate aim and had not been “necessary in a democratic society.” In respect of Tsargrad, the Court found that requiring Google to host content via escalating penalties, initially RUB 100'000 per day, doubling weekly, was an unjustified compulsion incompatible with legal certainty, particularly where enforcement continued after compliance, based on non-adversarial expert evidence. The Court also found a violation of Article 6 Section 1 due to the domestic courts’ failure to justify the aggregation of revenues from unrelated entities, the seizure of assets from a legally distinct company, and the overriding of contractual jurisdiction clauses without adequate reasoning. The judgment is subject to possible referral to the Grand Chamber under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention but becomes final absent such request.