A fine was imposed on WhatsApp, a U.S. messenger service, by a Russian court on Thursday due to its failure to delete prohibited content.
This marked the first instance in which WhatsApp received such a penalty, amounting to 3 million rubles ($37,000).
Last year, Russian authorities designated WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, as “extremist” and enforced a ban.
While Facebook and Instagram, both platforms owned by Meta, were blocked in Russia, WhatsApp remained accessible.
WhatsApp was penalized for its inability to remove a chat group that was offering an anti-depressant prohibited for sale in Russia, as reported by Russian news agencies.
In the past, Google, Twitter, TikTok, and the messaging app Telegram have also faced fines for their failure to delete illegal content.
Additionally, WhatsApp had previously been fined for not storing the data of Russian users on servers located within Russia, which violated local regulations.
