Russia has just filed lawsuits against Pinterest, the Wikimedia Foundation, and Google for violating local internet regulations, the latest move in their campaign against foreign technology companies.

According to a Reuters report, a Russian court has imposed fines on the social media platforms Pinterest and Twitch in separate lawsuits for violating local internet regulations.

Pinterest was ordered to pay 10 million rubles, about $123,692, while Twitch received a fine of 61 million rubles ($770,000).

This lawsuit comes right after the Wikimedia Foundation was fined six million rubles ($75,000) for not complying with Roskomnadzor's requirements, Russia's media watchdog. Google was also fined 7 million rubles ($86,585) for violating local internet regulations.

This campaign has lasted for many years, and if the latest lawsuit has anything to say, it will not end soon.

The latest lawsuit targets American technology companies.

Google was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 13.49 of the Administrative Code of Russia, regarding foreign companies failing to fulfill legal obligations related to domestic online service operations.

Google's troubles in Russia have been long-standing. Last October, the tech giant was fined 20 million rubles, an amount greater than Google's market value and an estimated global GDP of $110 trillion from the IMF, for blocking Russian state media channels on YouTube.

The origin of the dispute began in 2020 but escalated after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Initially, daily fines started at 100,000 rubles, but they quickly increased and began to double if non-compliance continued.

By 2022, Google's branch in Russia was declared bankrupt, ending its commercial services in the country, although its consumer products remained accessible.

Russia's campaign against foreign technology companies.

Russia has been at an impasse with foreign technology companies in escalating disputes since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, the country has imposed fines and lawsuits on the aforementioned companies, particularly American companies, continuing into 2025.

After the invasion, Twitter and Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram were immediately blocked, while YouTube became a target of anger from the Russian state.

Meta, labeled as "extremist" since 2022, has also faced fines. It seems that tensions eased in January last year when Russian court fines against Google, YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram appeared to be resolved, as the companies were no longer listed in the court officials' database.

It is unclear how these technology companies will respond to the new lawsuits, but history shows that many of them have chosen not to comply and leave Russia.

In fact, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, quite a few American technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Cisco, left Russia or partially exited to avoid sanctions, ethical concerns, and pressure from Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

The remaining companies have faced difficulties and evaded fines, and the lawsuits could ultimately drive them out completely.

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