Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Google has blocked individual officials and Russian media on YouTube. A Russian authority is now demanding high fines.

The Russian cartel office has fined the US technology group Google LLC two billion rubles (35 million euros) for allegedly exploiting the monopoly position of its subsidiary YouTube. “This leads to sudden blocking and the deletion of user accounts without warning or justification,” the authority justified its decision on Tuesday, according to the Interfax agency.