UPDATE: Watchdog opens administrative case vs Google, hear in Dec

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MOSCOW, Nov 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian communications service opened an administrative case against Google on Monday for the company’s failure to get connected to the register of locally banned Internet resources and will consider the case on the merits in December, the regulator said in a statement.

“A protocol regarding Google, LLC on the administrative violation was drawn on November 26,” the service said.

The law obliging search engines to get connected to a single register of banned information and screen search results from the blacklisted websites came in force on October 1.

Google could be punished with a fine of 500,000–700,000 rubles for its reluctance to join the register.

The watchdog’s press secretary Vadim Ampelonsky said the service will consider the case itself rather than it would hand it over to court.

“We thoroughly looked into the law and understood that we have the corresponding powers. The decision on a fine will be made by the communications service itself,” he said, adding that Google has not joined the register of banned online resources.

Google’s representative wrote an explanation, the details of which were not disclosed by Ampelonsky.

(65.6664 rubles – U.S. $1)

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