Russian regulators reportedly turn to court enforcement officers, after Facebook and Twitter ignore noncompliance fines

Russia’s battle with Facebook and Twitter has taken another turn: the two social media giants have reportedly failed to pay 4-million-ruble ($56,500) fines imposed for refusing to store Russian users’ data on servers in Russia. A source close to Roskomnadzor (Russia’s federal censor) told the newspaper Kommersant that the agency has submitted a writ of execution to court enforcement officers.

Russia’s Federal Bailiffs Service isn’t commenting on the case, and Roskomnadzor and the two U.S. tech companies have ignored journalists’ inquiries. 

Multiple experts told Kommersant that Russian court enforcement officers are incapable of collecting the fines from Facebook and Twitter because neither company is even registered legally in Russia.

In February 2020, a Moscow court fined Facebook and Twitter for refusing to comply with data-localization orders from Roskomnadzor issued in 2018. The U.S. companies have apparently responded with just “formal” replies.

In 2016, Russia banned the social network LinkedIn for refusing to localize user data. The service is now technically blocked in Russia.