A Russian court has imposed a fine on Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch for allegedly failing to remove “fake information” that discredited the armed forces of Russia, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
Today a judge from a Russian court based in Moscow’s Tagansky district found Twitch guilty of an administrative offense that led to a fine of four million rubles ($57,000). The verdict was formulated for the alleged failure to “remove prohibited content, having refused to remove incorrect information about Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, its form and methods, general mobilization, and civilian casualties in Ukraine,” according to the report.
In particular, an interview conducted on the platform with intelligence officer and former adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Arestovich with ex-Russian lawyer and harsh critic of Vladimir Putin Mark Feigin led to the fine due to the inaction by Twitch to remove it for alleged disinformation.
Supposedly the pair divulged unreliable information regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear war, and the mobilization of troops, according to the report.
Twitch allegedly violated part two of Article 13.41 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, according to Russia posts, which allows the Russian government to ban content or request the removal of content which is against the law of Russia. If companies do not oblige, they will face penalties.
In December 2020 the Article was published under Federal Law No. 511-FZ, which states that companies are obligated to remove content that includes “extremist activities,” alongside other resources such as child pornography or the promotion of illegal drugs.
Arestovych resigned as the adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine after he inaccurately reported that Ukraine shot down a Russian missile and it fell on a building in Dnipro, Ukraine. The missile strike led to the death of 44 people, according to Reuters.
