MOSCOW:A disclaimer about the infringement could be included in search engine results after the Russian government’s official communications regulator said on Friday that it was initiating penal action against five international IT companies for breaking online content regulations.The oversight body, Roskomnadzor, announced that it was taking action against Pinterest, Pinterest, the Telegram messaging service, and the chat apps Discord and TikTok from Zoom Video Communications.
Roskomnadzor issued a statement explaining the measures, which it said would be in force until the companies removed the content it had designated as illegal. Roskomnadzor did not provide specifics regarding the actions that would be taken.
For some other websites, the popular Yandex search engine in Russia already displays a disclaimer that reads: “Roskomnadzor: website violates Russian law.”Roskomnadzor has chosen to take enforcement steps, according to the agency, “in the form of informing web users about the firms’ violations of Russian legislation via search engines.”
For failing to remove content it deems unlawful, Russia has punished numerous, primarily international internet companies. It has also cautioned websites against breaking a legislation that forbids “discrediting” the military services and was passed in early March, carrying a term of up to 15 years in prison.Written requests for comment were not immediately answered by any of the businesses.
