Russia fines WhatsApp, Snapchat over data storage
LONDON (AP) — Russian regulators have fined chat service WhatsApp and Snapchat for failing to store Russian users’ data on local servers as part of government efforts to control online activity. A Moscow court on Thursday imposed an 18 million ruble, or $300,000, fine on chat service WhatsApp. Disappearing message platform Snapchat was hit with a 1 million ruble penalty. The fines follow a complaint by Russia’s state communications regulator. The court said it was fining WhatsApp for repeatedly refusing to localize data of Russian users. Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which owns WhatsApp, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Neither did Snap. which runs the Snapchat app.